Dare You To Move
by starkinternational
Summary: **NOT BEING UPDATED** Pietro was able to survive the events that took place in Sokovia. Now, he and the rest of the Avengers are left with rebuilding themselves. However, with Pepper Potts younger sister, Lottie, finding that Ultron may have had a second plan that involves Klaw and an unknown evildoer, the Avengers must figure out how to stop the robot and save those he threatened.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own Lottie and the plot of the story. Everything else is owned by Marvel, which is sad for me because they killed Pietro.

"You didn't see that coming?" The voice asked, wavering slightly. His body was riddled of bullet marks from the sudden attack from the plane. Hawkeye watched in shock as the white haired speedster's body fell forwards, landing in an uncomfortable looking position. Carefully placing the boy he went to protect by the side of the car, Clint Barton rushed to the side of his fallen ally. He could hear Wanda's screams in the background and the sudden sound of metal crunching.

"No," Clint protested, as Steve came to the other side of the body. "Come on, kid." He checked for a pulse, unable to find one. He rolled Pietro's body so that he was lying on his back. He could see the blood seeping through the wounds. Barton cursed to himself, trying his hardest to stop the bleeding. He could feel Steve pick up Pietro's body, and before he could protest, he remembered the mission. He had to make sure that the kid got back to his mother safely. Tearing his eyes from Pietro's form in Steve's arms, he picked the small boy up, bringing him back to the ship that would lead them to a safer area. As the boy's mother thanked him for saving her child, Clint's mind could not stop thinking about the "punk" that saved him. Those bullets were not meant for the older Maximoff twin; they were meant to kill him.

Shoving away help from an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, Clint gracelessly laid down on a few of the seats next to the body of Pietro. Clint felt like he couldn't swallow, like a foreign object blocked his airways. The side of his body twitched, and he lifted up his shirt slightly, touching the smooth skin that was rebuilt by Dr. Helen Cho's machine. And as if a light bulb went off in his head, Clint stood up quickly, trying to find the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D agent.

"Hey!" He said, hoping to get the attention of one of them in front of him. He grumbled to himself when none of them answered. "Hey!" He yelled loudly, this time the agents noticed him. They seemed to stand up straighter, seeing as it was a member of the Avengers talking to them. "I need you to get Maximoff's body on ice as soon as possible." Before any of the younger agents could protest or question the reasoning, Clint gave them a stern look and they all scattered about. Some went to Pietro's body, picking it up to move it to a different location. Others went to the pilot of the carrier, telling him to hurry to ground.

As soon as the carrier dropped off the civilians, it took Clint and the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents to the Helicarrier. Once on the flying base, Clint ordered the agents to hurry with the ice. He watched as the limp body was carried off to another section of the Helicarrier. "This better work," Clint whispered to himself, before going to find Fury and get to Dr. Cho's laboratory as soon as possible.

Clint Barton stood outside the glass room. He had been there for hours, only leaving once to update his wife on where he was and to make sure that Wanda knew they were doing anything possible for her brother. His tired eyes watched as Dr. Cho's machine worked, slowly healing the body of the fallen young man.

"Clint," A voice said. He ignored it, not wanting to take his eyes off of what was happening in the room in front of him, just in case something went wrong. "Clint," the voice repeated. This time a hand went to his shoulder. The physical touch was enough to pull his eyes away from the room. His best friend and colleague stood in front of him. She had a split lip and a faint bruise forming on the side of her side. "He'll be okay. You brought him here just in time." Many people had said that to him, but hearing it from Natasha made it seem real. The other's telling him that seemed like a dream; a far away hope that he had. But, here they were in South Korea, healing Pietro. Clint looked back at the room, his face more at ease.

"Have they found Banner yet?" He asked solemnly. He could see Natasha's reaction to the question in the reflection of the glass. Maybe he shouldn't have asked so soon? The woman quickly composed herself, however.

"No. Not yet."

"They will, Nat." The red head opened her mouth to refute his statement, but Helen Cho stepped out of the room, interrupting them.

"The process is done. His body is completely healed, it is up to him now to wake up." The woman told the two Avengers.

"Get Wanda and the others in here." Clint told Natasha.

"Tony and Steve are back in New York. Pepper's sister came back from South Africa and they both wanted to be there."

 _Shit_. Clint thought to himself. He completely forgot about the younger Potts sister coming back to America after a 2-year stint in South Africa. He had promised the young girl that he would train her how to use the bow and arrow, but right now he had other things on his mind.

"I'll explain it to Tony. Don't worry about Lottie," Natasha said, a small smile appearing on her lips. "I will alert the others, though."

"Thanks Nat." Clint said before walking into the room where Pietro lie. Pulling a chair over, Clint sat down next to the young man.

"Remember what Cap said, 'you get killed, walk it off.' Well now's the time to walk it off, kid." Clint said to the sedated body. "Just walk it off."

* * *

When Charlotte Potts stepped off the plane, she was expecting a big welcoming party, not a black car driven by a man she did not know. She at least expected her sister to be there at the airport, but not even Pepper showed up.

"So much for 'oh Lottie, we'll all be there,'" The young woman muttered to herself as the car sped out of the airport parking lot. "I was away for 2 years, 2 fucking years and no welcoming party!" She complained to the driver, who seemed less than interested. But, he made small grunt in response, trying to seem interested in the conversation. "I mean, I get it, they have to save the world and stuff, but really? I didn't even want to go to South Africa, not that it wasn't amazing," she clarified. "I got into the Antarctica program, but Tony was like 'it's for my business and I need you in Africa,' so of course I am going to listen to Tony freaking Stark."

It had been a blessing to Lottie that her older sister worked for Stark Industries and just happened to be in charge of the whole company. It gave the 23 year old some amazing job opportunities. Like her older sister, Lottie was a fierce businesswoman. However, Lottie's specialty was in the analysis department of Stark Industries. She was highly skilled on computers and hacked her way into Tony's personal accounts as a joke when she was visiting her sister one year. Tony, though, caught her antics and was interested in her skills, hiring her immediately. Now, Lottie worked in mostly international settings, making sure the accounts were all in check and that business would run smoothly.

Lottie stopped complaining when she noticed the pattern in the driver's responses. Unlocking her phone, she toyed with the stupid games she had downloaded when she was bored and scrolled aimlessly through the news. She has missed much of what happened in the world, due to poor Internet connection in South Africa. She also did not want to focus what was happening in the outside world, as she took the business venture as an elongated vacation as well. She passed various articles about celebrity antics, from the Kardashian's to who was best/worst dressed at the latest event. Lottie's finger stopped scrolling when she saw a headline that blasted a picture of Iron Man and other Avengers fighting off what seemed to be robots. Interested because it dealt with her friends, Lottie quickly read the article.

"Hey, um…uh…" Lottie started, looking up at the driver. She had forgotten his name. Blushing in embarrassment, she continued with what she was saying, "What is this news with Sokovia?" She noticed the driver look in the rearview mirror at her.

"The Avengers had business to take care of there." He responded shortly.

"But the article says that-"

"I'm sure that Mr. Stark will explain everything to you." He said, interrupting her. Lottie sighed and leaned back in the seat, rereading the article. This explained why no one was there to get her. She suddenly felt horrible about her complaining, but was happy that she stopped herself from calling one of the Avengers to complain. They had enough on their hands and didn't need her nagging to them. Lottie put her phone away, not wanting to be tempted to call her sister or Tony and ask questions about the event. Instead, she looked out the window and the bustling city that she had called home for her whole life. She was glad to be back, but at the same time, Lottie felt as if the events that happened while she was away are just the beginning of something even bigger.

The black car rolled up to the entrance of Stark Tower, a familiar setting for Lottie. She noticed the difference in the building structure and how new it looked from the last time she was in the building. She left for South Africa a couple of days after the Battle of New York and saw the tower in a sad state of destruction. Though, that is how the rest of the beloved city looked as well. Lottie stepped out of the car, smoothing down the black material of her dress. She heard her heels clack on the pavement, the noise something unfamiliar to her ears since she had been wearing sneakers or boots for the past 2 years. Lottie made sure she dressed nicely and looked presentable for when she got home. Her dark auburn hair was straight, lightening slightly at the tips due to the amount of sun exposure. Her hair always lightened when she was in the sun too much, but this time the tips of her hair seemed to be the target. She also rarely tanned, so the small amount of color Lottie did get excited her.

"I'll carry your bags up to your room, Miss." A man in a suit told Lottie. He was making his way toward her from the door. Lottie looked over his shoulder and noticed two more suited men and deducted that they worked for Tony. She nodded slightly, giving the man a small smile before making her way to the door. She hated having other people do things for her, but she knew better than to argue with those older than her. Lottie carried her handbag in with her, however, not trusting anyone with it expect for herself. It's not like anything really important was in it. She could replace her phone easily, and cancel her credit cards if it were ever to be stolen, but the bag itself held importance to her. It had been her mother's before she died and if anything happened to it, Lottie would be devastated.

"Welcome back, Miss Potts," another man in a suit greeted to her as she walked into the building. Lottie smiled at the man and walked right to the elevator. She twirled her keys nervously in her hand. Lottie had no reason to be nervous; this was her family after all. But, she didn't know if what happened in Sokovia injured or killed any of her friends. Was the tall blond god that she occasionally hit on in one piece? Did the redheaded assassin that taught her how to throw a dagger still alive? Or, did something bad happen to the bow-wielding older man that treated Lottie like a younger sister or daughter? Lottie felt her stomach lurch as she thought of something bad happening to Clint Barton. The archer had always made Lottie feel like she mattered and never kept her out of the loop of what was happening, even though she wasn't supposed to know. Even Pepper kept Lottie in the dark about some things, but never Clint. She had been working for Tony since she was 16, and yet she knew more about Clint Barton than she did about Tony.

Lottie was shaken from her thoughts when the elevator made a noise, signaling that she was on the correct floor. When the door opened, she saw Tony in half of the Iron Man suit, flying to get what looked to be a "Welcome Home" sign to hang up. She also saw Steve Rogers telling Tony that a ladder would have done the job just as well. To the left of the two men, she saw her sister talking on the phone. None of them noticed that she was here yet.

"Hey guys," Lottie spoke up, "What happened to J.A.R.V.I.S?" She asked. Steve looked over at her, as did Tony and Pepper, who quickly hung up the phone.

"Lottie, you aren't supposed to be back for another hour!" Pepper said, walking to her younger sister.

"I mean, I can always just leave and come back later." The younger Potts girl responded. Pepper quickly protested and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "It's good to see you too, Virginia." Lottie commented, using her sister's real name.

"Welcome home, kiddo." Tony commented, pulled Lottie into a quick hug. He was no longer in the Iron Man suit. Lottie hugged the man back.

"Jeez, Stark. I'm gone for 24 months and you change the place on me." She joked, earning a laugh from the man.

"Hey, Lottie-Pop." Steve said, using his nickname for her. Lottie had a small obsession with lollypops, always sucking on them as she worked, so Steve started calling her "Lottie-Pop."

"Hey, Cap." She commented, giving him a big hug. When she pulled away, she looked around the room, seeing if anyone else would pop out to say hi.

"Sorry, sis, everyone else is…busy." Pepper commented, quickly looking over at Steve and Tony. This did not go unnoticed by Lottie, who just nodded a bit.

"Yeah, I get it. You gotta save the world and everything. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' and all." Lottie tried to hide the coldness in her tone. "But, I appreciate you guys being here and doing this when you didn't have to." But she really wanted them too.

"Enough about the Avengers," Steve commented, picking up on Lottie's disdain. "Tell us about Africa."

"Actually," Pepper interjected, "Maximoff is healed and Fury wants you two," she said pointing at Steve and Tony, "to fly to South Korea as soon as possible." Lottie's brows furrowed. Steve sighed and gave Lottie a forgiving look.

"Don't worry about it. My wild African adventures aren't going to just disappear." She commented. "Pepper will just have to hear about them twice." Lottie said, wrapping her arm around her sister's shoulder. "Plus, as long as there is wine, I will be okay." This earned a laugh from everyone, but the three older adults could all tell Lottie was disappointed with what was happening.

"Well," Tony said, "I guess Cap and I have to get going." He gave Lottie another hug, rustling her hair a bit. "Your 'welcome home' present is in your room." He told her, seeing Lottie's eyes light up.

"I'll get right to that." She said to him, earning a smile. "Fly safely." The two men nodded and left for the elevator. Once Lottie heard the doors closed, she walked towards the kitchen with Pepper.

"So," Lottie started, "tell me about what happened in Sokovia."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I am not the creative mastermind behind the Marvel Universe. I only own Lottie and whatever she decides to do.

 **AN: Thanks to those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. twilightgirl00000001: the flashback of Lottie in South Africa is in chapter 4, so you'll just have to imagine what she has done. Enjoy chapter 2!**

Pietro gazed into the mirror, examining the parts of his body that Helen Cho's machine fixed. His hand grazed the new skin; it felt foreign to him. Pietro sighed and shook his head, turning away from the mirror. He should be dead. He was dead for a few minutes, but because of Barton's quick thinking he was quickly revived. It's not that he didn't appreciate being revived; it just felt wrong that man had that much power to bring someone back from the dead. Pulling his shirt over his head, Pietro made his way to the door. He had been stuck in the same room for a few hours after he woke up, stretching his muscles and gathering his thoughts. He hesitated opening the door, knowing that his sister was probably waiting eagerly outside of the door. Everything seemed so slow to him. Pietro was used to swiftness and speed, but everything was sluggish. Sighing, he opened the door, but did not see his sister.

"Wanda?" He asked, looking around the hallway. He didn't see her anywhere, which worried him. He walked into the hallway, looking through the various doors to find his sister. Every room he stopped in was empty. Suddenly, Pietro heard soft voices and walked in the direction they were coming from. He could make out Wanda's voice, as well as Clint Barton's. Pietro also heard Tony Stark's voice emerge from the rest, which caused Pietro to roll his eyes. After everything that happened, and they still all were "buddy-buddy" with Stark. He was the one that caused everything to happen. Stepping into the room, the voices suddenly stopped.

"What?" Pietro asked, "Surprised to see me up?" Before he could get a response, he felt the rush of Wanda as she wrapped her arms around him tightly in a hug. He flinched slightly, expecting pain but none came. He felt air rush out of him, as he breathed. Pietro didn't notice that he had been holding his breath. He wrapped his arms around Wanda, returning the hug.

"I thought you were gone," She mumbled to him. Pulling away, Pietro could see the worry etched on Wanda's face.

"I'm fine." He whispered to her. But, was he really? He felt fine on the outside, but inside he felt like something was missing. He still felt the sting of the bullets and the feeling of being dead. However, he chose to keep this from Wanda.

"Good to have you back, kid." Pietro looked up to see Captain America holding out his hand. Hesitantly, Pietro grabbed his hand, shaking it.

"Well, you did say to walk it off," Pietro commented, smirking a little. He needed to make it seem like everything was okay. Pietro looked past the solider to Clint Barton. Stepping around Captain America, he walked over to the archer.

"You look alright," Barton said to him.

"I feel alright," He responded. "Thank you," Pietro said after a few seconds of silence. Barton shrugged, standing straighter.

"It was the only thing to do. You saved my life and the boys, might as well save your ass." The two smiled at one another.

"Well," Tony Stark said, "Time to return home."

"Home?" Pietro asked, looking at Wanda.

"They offered positions in the Avengers team for us, if we want them." Pietro didn't respond. Wanda could see his uncertainty. After all, they had been made to believe the Avengers were terrible. However, after fighting alongside the group, Pietro understood what the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D were about: saving people. And that was something Pietro could agree to doing. He was still unsure, though. He didn't trust Stark and he hardly trusted anyone else in the Avengers.

"We'll think about it." He said, earning a nod from his twin. Pietro turned away from the group and walked out of the room.

Could he really be apart of the Avengers? Was he still able to run fast? Pietro was sure with some training, he would make a good member of the team, but his loyalty to Wanda would always be higher than that of those on the team. He decided then that wherever Wanda chose to go, so would he.

The others watched as Pietro walked out. They didn't want to push him too much, he was just dead. Wanda turned to the group, reassuring them that they shouldn't worry about him and that she would talk to him more about joining. Wanda knew that joining the Avengers, she would be able to make a difference in the world. She believed when she joined sides with Ultron that that was what she would do. But, she was mistaken and felt guilty about it.

"Come on everyone, we better hurry home. Don't know how much of my wine Lottie drank." Tony commented, ready to head back to New York.

"Lottie?" Wanda asked, looking confused at the other people in the room. They all started to walk out of the room, ready to get their things and head to the plane that would take them back to New York.

"Lottie is a friend." Natasha told her. "She works for Stark Industries." Wanda tried not to make a face. She wondered if this Lottie had anything to do with the bombs that hit her apartment all those years ago.

"She is also Pepper's younger sister." Tony said. Wanda had heard all about Pepper Potts. She relaxed a bit, knowing that the girl had nothing to do with her parent's murder.

"And she knows about the Avengers?" Wanda asked. She noticed Pietro join the group again as they boarded the plane.

"She was able to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D databases to find out about the Avengers." Clint Barton told her. Wanda was impressed that someone could break into the government programs files. "Almost got herself killed because of it." Clint continued.

"How?"

"We thought that she was with Hydra, so I was sent to find out and terminate whoever hacked the system. I found her in her room in Stark Towers, streaming unreleased movies onto her computer."

"She isn't that good at covering her tracks." Tony said. Wanda nodded and sat next to Pietro on the plane. At least there would be someone around that seemed closer in age to her. Wanda closed her eyes, her hand subconsciously going to Pietro's. She felt his hand tense up slightly at the contact, but it soon relaxed and he gave her a gentle squeeze. Wanda smiled to herself; they were still together and nothing could change that.

* * *

The plane ride was quiet. Everyone seemed to be keeping to themselves, except for Natasha and Clint, who were busy discussing family issues. Clint was starting to get ideas for another renovation, but Natasha was trying to tell him he had done enough. But, Clint wanted the best for his family. Looking over at the twins, Clint swallowed hard. They both had their eyes closed and for some reason, Clint thought that they were dead. He blinked the image of Pietro lying dead on the floor away from his mind. His grip on the armrest tightened slightly. He looked at Pietro once again; this time he saw blood pouring out of the younger man's chest. Clint stood up abruptly, clearing his throat. The Maximoff's opened their eyes and looked at the man standing up. He was clearly disturbed by something. As soon as Clint noticed everyone looking at him, he excused himself from that area of the plane, and walked into a different room. Clint stayed in the separate room the rest of the ride home, trying to get the images of what happened in Sokovia out of his head.

The plane landed just as the sun was peaking out from the skyline in New York City. Everyone was working on a few hours of sleep, except for Pietro Maximoff, who pretended to be asleep. Truth was, no matter how hard he tried, Pietro just could not fall asleep. He felt tired, and he was sure he looked tired, but something caused him to stay awake. The group silently walked off of the plane. Tony sighed as he saw the body of Lottie sleeping in an uncomfortable position on the couch. Next to her was two bottles of wine, clearly empty. Pepper was also there, but the elder Potts sister was awake. She rushed over to Tony, kissing him quickly as she welcomed everyone home.

"She drank herself to sleep after she found out what happened. I had to pry out a third bottle out of her hands before she calmed down."

"We're all fine, she had nothing to be worried about." Tony told Pepper, looking over at the young girl.

"I know that, but when she heard about Barton," Pepper's eyes went to the archer, who went to sit next to Lottie's sleeping form. "When she heard what happened, I had to stop her from trying to catch a plane to Seoul." Pepper continued to talk to Tony, adding what her sister told her about South Africa.

Meanwhile, Clint tried to wake up Lottie. He knew that was probably a bad idea, but he also wanted her to know he was okay. As he gently shook her body, he peered over at Steve and Natasha, who were briefing the Maximoff twins on where they would be staying.

"Why are you trying to wake me up, Pep?" Lottie mumbled. Clint looked over at Lottie, whose eyes were still shut.

"Sorry, kid." He whispered. Lottie's eyes opened quickly and she sat up, ignoring the headache that came with the swift movement. She wrapped her arms tightly around Clint, who was bracing himself for the action.

"Holy shit," Lottie said. "I thought you were hurt or dead or…"

"Just shut up, Lot." Lottie laughed and continued to hug the older man tightly. She had been worried all night for him. She even called his wife, Laura, to ask if she knew anything. She stayed on the phone with the older woman as long as she could, and the rest of the night she spent drinking. Pulling away, Lottie sat up more, trying to fix her hair as she noticed new people.

"Oh god," She started, her headache really starting to hit, "I probably have wine breathe." She said to herself, getting Clint to laugh. Glaring at him, Lottie stood up, straightening out her dress and stretching her bones into place.

"Where's Thor?" She asked Clint, her voice strained from stretching. "And Banner?"

"Thor went to Asgard to learn more about...well just to learn." Clint didn't want to tell her more than she needed to know. "And we don't know where Banner is." He told her, causing Lottie to frown. They didn't know where Banner was? "But we will once he turns into the green guy again."

"If he turns into the green guy again." She responded, walking away from the couch. Lottie had never seen Bruce turn into the Hulk, but Natasha told her what happened on the helicarrier. Lottie had, much like Tony, tried to provoke Bruce to see the green giant, but with no success. Every time Lottie attempted to get Bruce angry, the team got 10 times more on edge than normal.

As she started to walk, she only heard one clack of a heel and looked down. Somehow, she was only wearing one shoe. Annoyed, she took the other heel off, tossing it to the side. She approached Steve, Natasha, and the two strangers. They all looked tired, but the man with white hair looked as if he was about to fall over.

"Lottie, this is Wanda and Pietro Maximoff," Natasha started, "they are new recruits."

Lottie put her hand out, which Wanda took eagerly. Wanda had been wondering about this young girl the whole ride home. The only people Wanda had been friends with back at home were other rioters and her brother. It was nice to see a new face and start a new relationship. Pietro, on the other hand, did not want to meet anyone new. He could care less about the red head in front of him. But, he shook her hand nonetheless.

"As Natasha said, I'm Lottie. Do you guys need anything? Coffee? A shower?" She mentally kicked herself. "Not that you guys smell or anything, it's just…um…I'm gonna stop digging my head further into a hole." Pietro smirked slightly. Lottie noticed his reaction to her short babble and blushed slightly.

"Lottie is one of the best at what she does," Steve told the twins. He noticed how Wanda seemed to be more interested in the young girl than Pietro was. He was glad about that. The last thing he needed was protecting Lottie against punks.

"Yeah yeah." Lottie said, blushing again at Steve's compliment. Steve always tried to make Lottie feel like she was apart of the team, even though she knew she wasn't. Looking around, she noticed three other people. Well, she wouldn't consider one of them a person due to his purplish skin tone. "Who are they?" She asked.

"Oh," Steve looked over and waved the three over, she quickly recognized Lt. Col. James Rhodes, but the other two were a mystery. "You know Rhodes," Lottie smiled at the familiar faces and then turned to the other two as Steve introduced them. "This is Sam Wilson and Vision."

Lottie shook Sam's hand, noticing a metal contraption on his back. "Vision?" Lottie questioningly said. "You're like Ultron."

"You can say I'm like him, but I find myself slightly different." Lottie was taken aback by Vision's voice and circled around him.

"Why does he sound like J.A.R.V.I.S?" She asked, her eyes furrowed as she looked in Tony's direction.

"It's a…long story." Vision responded, earning a hesitated nod from the shorter woman.

"And you!" She turned around, pointing to Sam, who jumped up in surprise. "What's on your back?"

"They're wings-"

"Wings?!" Lottie exclaimed, cutting off Wilson. "So…if I, lets say, jump off some place really high, you'll catch me."

"Yes, he could but you're not going to jump off some place really high." Pepper interjected.

Lottie though, already had her plan set. The way she was facing would give her easy access to run through the glass doors and off the tower. Everyone, seemed to be tensed up, ready for if Lottie tried anything. She only smiled sweetly, causing even more uneasiness in the likes of Steve and Clint. The Maximoff twins though, seemed to know what she was planning and looked on, smirking. It appeared that this girl had the entire team on alert 24/7.

"Well," Lottie started, slowly backing up even more towards the glass. "Let's test that theory, shall we?" And with that she burst through the glass doors, hearing Steve and other mixed voices call after her. She could hear the footsteps and the voices follow her, but with her head start, she was out of their reach. Any other day, Lottie would think of herself as crazy to do this, but with all the flying machinery that surrounded her in the room she was just in, she felt safe. With a giant leap and a loud scream from Pepper echoing in her ear, Lottie jumped from the edge of the building.

She felt free as she fell forward. She hadn't realized that her eyes were closed in the first couple of seconds, but as soon as she opened them, Lottie let out a laugh. She wondered if birds felt like this whenever they flew; free and unstoppable. Lottie watched as the tiny cars started to get slightly bigger, causing a small jolt of panic to run through her. They would catch her right? Suddenly, she could hear a wooshing sound and wasn't exactly sure if it was her body gaining speed, or someone flying after her. Lottie felt someone grab her and crush her smaller body against theirs. Expecting the hard metal of the Iron Man suit, Lottie was surprised to feel clothes and skin. Looking up, she saw Sam grimacing down at her.

"You are really stupid, you know!" He said loudly, over the sound of wind rushing by them as he started to fly back up to the top of the building.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be a fun life without doing stupid things!" She said back to him. Lottie could hear him chuckling and soon she found her feet back on the roof. Sam let her go and Lottie could feel herself lurch forward slightly at the sudden change of atmosphere, but was caught by Pepper, who hugged the smaller girl's body tightly.

"What were you thinking?" Pepper sternly said, pulling away from her little sister.

"I was thinking that I would be caught." Lottie looked from Pepper to Sam and then back to Pepper, "and I was."

"But what if he didn't catch you." Clint asked.

"Then I would be like a fly on a windshield." Lottie said with a laugh.

"You could have died and you are laughing?" Pepper was exasperated.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Lottie responded, causing Pepper to close her mouth. "Besides, now we know my theory is right."

"You are something else, kid." Tony said, wrapping an arm around Lottie's shoulder. Everyone was still a little shaken at the stunt she pulled.

"Honestly, you guys should have seen it coming." Lottie said to the group. "I tend to do things like this." She mentioned to the four new people she had just met today. She admitted it may have been stupid for her to pull a stunt like that only minutes after meeting someone new, but once she started on a path it was hard to stop her.

"Are we going to have to babysit her or something?" Wanda asked. Lottie looked over to the Maximoff twins. Wanda seemed genuinely concerned for the girl's safety, while Pietro looked at her with an unreadable expression. It made Lottie slightly insecure, but she shook off the feeling and answered the question.

"Babysit? No. Occasionally save me from myself and the evils that you guys seem to always run into? Big time." Lottie laughed, walking past everyone. "Welcome to the club." She said before walking back into the tower and to her room.

"She's crazy." Sam said, after the quiet of what happened.

"She's family." Steve responded. "And we watch out for family…crazy or not."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I only own Lottie and her antics, everything else is Marvel and Stan Lee's creations.**

 **AN: In my drafts of this story, I found that I was too quick with getting to the action, so in my rewrite of this, I decided to add chapters of Lottie really solidifying a friendship with the Maximoff twins. Also, I am going to add the next chapter sometime next week, but if this chapter gets 5 reviews, I will put chapter 4 up as soon as possible!**

"Do you have a death wish or something?" Pepper yelled at her younger sister. The two had been going at it for the last hour; Lottie's behavior being at the top of the list. Lottie was currently sitting on the couch, arms crossed over her chest. Her jaw was tensed and she had an irritated look on her face. Pepper had been yelling for the past couple of minutes, not allowing Lottie to get any word in. The rest of the team was there too, looking awkwardly on. Tony had interjected a few times to calm the girls down and Clint had to stop Lottie from almost punching her sister in the face. It's clear to say that some of the comments the girls threw at each other were nasty.

"Are you trying to kill yourself, Lottie? From what happened in New York?" Pepper's voice got softer and suddenly the air in the room grew thicker, if it were possible. Lottie's head snapped up, her eyes wide as she looked at her sister. The members of the Avengers that had fought in New York looked on, painfully remembering what had happened to the younger Potts sister. "We can get you help, if that is the issue."

"I'm not trying to kill myself. And I don't want to talk about this." Lottie said, getting up suddenly. Her mind raced, trying to forget what had happened. This is how it always was when someone tried to talk to her about what she went through during the Battle of New York. Lottie tried to have her voice remain strong, but it waivered anyway. She was choking up.

"You never want to talk about it." Pepper remarked, walking towards her sister. Lottie took a step back and turned away from her, walking towards the door. She needed to get out, get away from everyone. Wanda watched on and recognized the look on Lottie's face. She had seen it before on the faces of the Sokovian people, on her brother's face when someone mentioned their parents. She had seen it every time she looked in the mirror. The face of fear and anger and sadness.

"Why don't you ever talk about it?" Pepper continued, the volume of her voice raising slightly. "Charlotte!" She called after her. Lottie stopped walking just as she got to the elevator door. Her hand was out, ready to press the button, but now she was frozen. No one ever called Lottie by her full name. It was in a territory that was off limits.

"Don't call me that." Lottie hissed, her voice breaking even more. She pressed the elevator button and entered, trying to hold a strong face and not break down in front of the team. Wanda, who had done the same thing time and time again, knew that that was what the girl was doing. Before the elevator door closed, Wanda quickly followed the girl and entered the elevator. Before the former girl and those in the room could protest the doors shut and the elevator started it's decent. Lottie just stared at the girl in front of her. Wanda wasn't looking at Lottie, she was watching the floors slowly go down.

"What are you doing?" Lottie's voice was barely a whisper. Wanda looked over at the younger girl, noticing the redness around her eyes and the dead look on her face.

"You said that we would have to occasionally save you from yourself," Wanda said, repeating Lottie's words in air quotes. "Well that's what I am doing." Wanda and Lottie stared at each other, with the latter girl unsure of how to respond. After the elevator reached the ground floor and the doors opened, the two girls stepped out. Lottie still had her eyes on Wanda, slowly trying to figure her out. Wanda noticed the slow pace of the usually up-to-speed girl and turned around. "I'm not about to let you have a huge break down in the city. Now are you coming or not?" Wanda asked before turning away again. Lottie blinked a few times, looking back at the elevator door that was beginning to close.

"Yeah." She responded, not wanting to go back up and face everyone's questions.

* * *

Pietro watched his sister walk into the elevator after the girl. He was about to say something, call after her to stop, but the doors closed. He turned to the others in the room. The air was still tense and no one said anything. Pepper looked as if she was about to cry, but just as Lottie had, she held her composure.

"What the hell was that about?" Pietro asked, his thick accent cutting through the tense air like a butter knife. Clint looked over at the man, glaring at him. His sister and him shouldn't have even seen that event. They had no idea what went on; what the team had to go through. Clint knew he shouldn't be angry with the remaining twin, but he just was.

"Our mother was the only one that called her Charlotte." Pepper suddenly said. She wasn't talking directly to anyone, just out loud.

"Pepper..." Tony started, his voice soft and comforting. He walked over to Pepper, putting his hand on her shoulder, unsure of how to properly comfort her.

"We made a promise that I would never call her that, and I broke it." Pepper looked at Tony, tears threatening to fall. "I...I need to go. I have work to do. I have a company to run." Pepper wiped her eyes and put on her stern face.

"I'll call and have the jet ready for you," Tony sighed, knowing it was useless to argue with her. The two sisters were more alike then they admitted. They were both headstrong and their points were final. Pepper silently thanked Tony and walked out of the room to her bedroom.

Pietro continued to watch the rest of the team, discomfort on all of their face. The only other ones that seemed clueless were Sam, Vision, and Rhodes. "What happened in New York?" Pietro asked.

"Kid, if Lottie wants to tell you about it, she'll tell you." Clint responded, gritting his teeth. He got up from the seat he was sitting in during the ordeal. "Tomorrow we leave for the new base, we all need to be ready." He stalked out of the room, not wanting to see the remaining twin any longer. Although Clint was happy that he was still alive, he still didn't trust him or his sister. And he didn't like how he felt like he deserved to question what happened.

"She was almost killed." Natasha spoke up, answering Pietro's question. He looked at the assassin, as did everyone else, letting her continue to speak. "She was under the influence of the scepter and when we saved her, she thought she could help stop Loki. Loki caught her and slit her throat. When we caught him all he said was 'you can't save her,' but she's still here. She's still alive."

"How?" Sam asked. Tony, Steve, and Natasha were the only three in the room that had been there, trying to get the blood to stop. Natasha had been the one that held the young girl's neck, attempting to buy more time. Steve, whose hand was clenched in a fist, did not look at the other people in the room. He remembered the event and remembered feeling like he couldn't do anything.

"He didn't cut deep enough." She responded. There was a silence in the room as the four new people took in the information. Rhodes knew the girl longer than any of the other new people. She had babysat his nieces and helped him get comfortable with the idea of being War Machine. Sam now understood why she acted so recklessly and jumped. He worked with soldiers with PTSD and wondered if Lottie had symptoms of the disorder. Vision, though he was still getting used to human emotions, could see the hurt and pain Tony, Natasha, and Steve were trying to hide.

Pietro on the other hand, felt sick. It was the same feeling he got when Helen Cho's machine finished fixing him. He could feel the bile in his stomach slowly inch it's way up his throat. He swallowed hard and looked at Tony, who had an unreadable expression.

"No one brings this up." Tony warned.

Pietro didn't need to be told this. He knew better than bringing up someone's painful past.

* * *

"I mean who just breaks a fucking promise?" Lottie ranted, stirring her chocolate milkshake with the straw. Wanda and her had been out in the city now for a few hours, shopping and talking about what had happened. Lottie found talking to Wanda easy, so she didn't mind sharing what happened in New York with her. Although, she did break down once while talking about it, Lottie felt satisfied to get all that built up anger and sadness out. In return, Wanda shared what happened to her parents to Lottie. The two had stopped at a corner diner and were currently talking about the "Charlotte" incident.

"I don't get it," Wanda said, after sipping her strawberry milkshake. "What was the promise?"

"My mother was the only one that called me Charlotte. I mean, sure my dad called me that too before he walked out when I was seven, but he doesn't even count. After our mom died, I made Pepper promise never to call me by my full name." Mrs. Potts died of breast cancer when Lottie just finished her junior year of high school. "She was my best friend." Lottie said about her mother.

"My mother was mine too, besides Pietro of course." Wanda replied with a frown. It was refreshing to talk about her parents. Pietro never wanted to talk about them; it was too painful for him. He spent all the years after their death focusing on how to avenge them, rather than remembering them. "Pietro and I would fight all the time over this stupid toy. Our mother would always take my side." Wanda said with a smile. "And Pietro would whine and throw a fit. It was probably the funniest thing I ever saw. After they died, I became angry too. At everything."

"That's why you joined in on the riots?" Lottie asked, licking a bit of whipped cream that fell on her hand. Wanda shook her head.

"I...we joined the riots because we felt the government wasn't protecting it's people. Soldiers from different countries were coming, trying to keep the peace. But instead, they took away Sokovian rights. So, I guess you could say I was angry, but I joined to get my country and the people the rights and freedoms we were promised."

"What about Pietro?" Wanda bit her lip at Lottie's question about her brother.

"Pietro joined the riots for the same reasons I did...but he was fueled by revenge and hatred rather than the anger and sadness I was fueled by. He always had a temper, but he also now shut people out. He was reckless in most of the riots, always ready to fight with the police officers and get bloody. And when there were riots, he would stay out late and come home with stupid bimbos. They would never stay, though."

"I'm guessing Pietro isn't a cuddler." Lottie joked.

"Not one bit." Wanda scoffed. "I was the only one to see him without the walls he built up. But, he isn't a talker really. He gets angry every time I bring up our parents."

Lottie nodded, understanding where Pietro was coming from. She never liked talking about her mother, her father even more. Her father was a ghost to her; she didn't even care that he existed. She hated him for leaving her mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She hated him for showing up to her funeral after years of not being in contact. She hated the fact that he had moved on so quickly and started another family, all while he ignored Pepper and her. Lottie hated him.

"You're glaring at your milkshake." Wanda commented, causing Lottie to look up at her. She blushed, not even realizing she was making a face.

"So, Pietro got a lot of girl?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Ugh, he would just bring girl after girl. They liked the fact that he was an asshole." Wanda said, rolling her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, he respected the fact that I didn't want to hear any of that shit, but sometimes they were so annoying and loud and I couldn't take."

"Don't tell me you walked in on him with a girl?" Lottie didn't mind talking about this stuff with Wanda, although Lottie had to admit that she felt a tad jealous. She hardly even knew Pietro, but he was nice to look at and any girl that could get with him was lucky.

"I've done it twice." Wanda replied. "He always goes after the same type of girl. Blonde, big boobs, and zero brain." Lottie rolled her eyes.

"I'm surprised that he didn't run out of hearts to break." Wanda laughed at the red heads comment.

"Me too." The two girls laughed and continued to talk more, straying away from Pietro and his many lovers. It was nice that they could easily talk to one another. Wanda was sure she could talk to Lottie for hours about any topic in the world. Plus, Lottie didn't press for answers when something became uncomfortable.

"Hey Lottie," Wanda suddenly started as the two girls finished paying for their milkshakes and walked back to the Avenger's Tower.

"Mhm?" The girl responded, slightly swinging the two clothing bags she had in her hand.

"You're a good friend, you know?"

"Duh." Lottie said with a large smile on her face. Wanda laughed and pushed the girl lightly. "You're not so bad yourself, Maximoff." Lottie added, causing Wanda to roll her eyes with a smile. The two girls got back to the tower, not without noticing a helicopter landing on the top of the tower. They shrugged at one another and went to the elevator. All of Lottie's feelings during the beginning of the day had been replaced with happier ones. She felt herself again, and she felt like there was one less person she needed to keep a fake smile with.

When they got to the top of floor and stepped out, Lottie noticed right away that something was up. The whole team, minus Wanda since she had been with her the whole day, was sitting at the dining table. Thor was there as well, talking to the team quietly. The only other person missing was Bruce Banner, who was still missing. At the head of the table sat, Nick Fury. Lottie had always been slightly afraid of the man, but that was understandable. He had to be frightening in the position he was in. Thor stopped talking as soon as the two girls entered the room, and everyone turned to look at them.

"Um, I'll be in my room." Lottie said, trying to quickly escape the stares of everyone.

"Not so fast, Ms. Potts." Fury said. She heard the sound of his chair scraping against the floor as he got up. She flinched slightly at the noise. She had always hated it ever since she was a little girl. Lottie turned to the Director, swallowing her fear.

"Am I in trouble?" She questioned, her voice small and quiet. Nick Fury laughed at the question, which frightened Lottie even more. She looked past his shoulder at the Avengers sitting at the table, hoping one of them would save her. But, no one did.

"No, Ms. Potts. You aren't in trouble." Fury started. "However, we do need you for something."

"We?" Lottie raised her eyebrow before realizing the 'we' was S.H.I.E.L.D. "Why does S.H.I.E.L.D need me?"

"I need you to come to the new base and design new programs. With the agency's prior files being leaked after the Hydra incident, I want a better system. I asked Stark, but he referred me to the best person he knew for the job."

"Me?" Lottie was surprised.

"Yes, you. You would be considered a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and be under our protection."

"When do we leave?" Lottie asked as soon as he finished speaking, with a small smirk on her face. She didn't need to think twice about this opportunity.

"That's my girl." Lottie heard Tony say.

"We leave tomorrow, 8am sharp." Fury said before starting to walk back to the helicopter. "Nice to have you on board...Agent Potts." He added at the end, before leaving the Avengers Tower.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, other than Lottie and the plot. Everything else belongs to Marvel.**

 **AN: Happy Friday! Here is the next chapter. The large chunk of italics in this chapter is a memory, not someone thinking to themselves. Also, I have no idea how fast Pietro can actually run and the extent of Wanda's telepathy, so I made that up.**

"That's it. I'm done, I quit." Lottie huffed as she laid down on Wanda's bed. The older girl rolled her eyes at her friend's complaining. The mattress molded around the younger girl's shape, as if it was made for her body.

"It's only been a week, Lottie."

"A week of pure hell!" Lottie dramatically added. "When Nick Fury pleaded for my help, he did not add that I would be training as well." She exaggerated.

"He didn't plead. Stop being a drama queen." Wanda retorted, sitting on the edge of her bed. Lottie had barged in after she was finished with a training exercise Natasha put together. The tired woman was wearing nothing but a sports bra and running shorts. As the week passed, Wanda and Lottie had grown very close, always hanging out with one another during their free time.

"I'm going to be dead by the end of the month." Lottie announced.

"Good. I'm getting tired of you making my bed all sweaty and you going on about how you are going to die." Wanda joked around, grabbing a magazine.

"Don't lie. You would miss me if I died." Lottie turned around, laying on her stomach. "Although I think you would be okay since you would have Vision to comfort you." Lottie snickered. Wanda hit her friend on the shoulder with the magazine, a bright blush forming on her cheeks. Lottie laughed at the response she got from Wanda.

"Shut up. There is nothing going on between us."

"Sure there isn't. When you aren't with me or Pietro, you are with him."

"We are on the same team," Wanda started, "I need to know how to work with him." The older girl huffed.

"How to work with him, or know more about him?" Wanda sent a glare at her friend. "Don't get me wrong, I want to know more about him too. He's an android for crying out loud. But, come on Wanda...just admit that you have feelings for him." Wanda didn't respond to Lottie's statement. Instead, she poked Lottie's cheek, causing the latter girl to swat Wanda's hand away. Wanda found out quickly that Lottie hated it when people poked her. She had seen the displeasure and irritation that came out of the red head when she was poked. It wasn't that Lottie didn't like being touched, as Wanda found that her friend was an intense hugger. Wanda asked what bugged Lottie so much about being poked; the girl's response being that the touch her of the scepter. Lottie, however, didn't seem to mind when Wanda poked her. She knew the Sokovian did it to annoy her when she would be an annoyance.

She looked over at Lottie, noticing her frustrated glare at the ceiling. Wanda could tell her mind was reeling, and thought it best to not interrupt the girls's thoughts. She looked down at Lottie's neck, the edge of a scar visible. With the two having grown close, Lottie had been more open to questions about New York and what happened. Although Wanda knew the story, Lottie having told her after the argument with Pepper, she didn't know if Lottie was mentally okay. She remembered when Lottie jumped off of the top of the building and wondered if that was Lottie just being herself, or Lottie trying to escape the horrors of her past. "Come on," Wanda started, "We have to go." She threw a spare shirt at Lottie, the same one that the girl forgot in her room the day before.

Lottie whined loudly as she got up and slipped the shirt over her head, not ready to continue on with the program after the conversation she just had with Wanda. It would have been easier if Clint was around, but he left the facility once she was moved in to head home and be a father. Lottie loved Clint's family, having met them before. She was one of the very few people who knew about his hidden family, and promised to keep it a secret. Lottie and Wanda walked through the facility, now familiar with the different hallways and doors. They passed by a small office that had Lottie's name written on it. Fury and Agent Hill had the room designed especially for her, though Lottie hardly used it. She found that working while in the field was easier and went by faster than her being cooped up in a room alone. Fury, however, had mentioned to her once or twice that special assignments would soon end up at her office door, so she knew that sooner or later she would be stationed there.

The two girls emerged into a large opening, where agents walked around from room to room. They passed a group of 20 agents-in-training, running in formation. Luckily for Lottie, she didn't have to do the same training as the group they just passed. Lottie noticed that her table was set up with the equipment she needed for the day. Her schedule usually consisted of morning workouts with Natasha or Steve, a break where she can relax, and then she would get an agenda of tests to do. Lottie picked up the clipboard on her desk and turned to Wanda.

"You and Pietro are my next victims!" She laughed, as her friend made a face of worry. In the week that they had been at the facility, Lottie had done intense testing on Sam. Lottie felt it important to test the new team to their extremes. This way, if they were ever in a difficult situation, they knew when they were exerting too much energy into what they were doing.

As Lottie was getting excited that she would be doing tests on her friend, Wanda feared the worst. Sam had told her what the younger girl made him do and how after the first day he had to take an ice bath for an hour. Wanda felt a breeze pass by her and looked to her left, seeing Pietro standing next to her.

"Why is she so excited?" He asked, his brows furrowed, as he pointed to Lottie. He hadn't really gotten to know the 23 year old, only hearing about her when Wanda and him talked.

"I hope you had a good night rest." Wanda sighed as she walked forward to her friend. "Cause you are going to need it." She finished, looking back at her brother. Wanda's words sunk into Pietro's mind, and suddenly a light bulb seemed to go off in his mind as he put it together.

"Fuck." He whispered to himself as he walked towards the eager red head.

* * *

It wasn't even 2 hours into the testing and Pietro felt like he was going to turn into puddy. Lottie had set Pietro up on a large treadmill type machine and ordered him to run as fast as he could. At first, he believed that the task would be easy. However, every time he reached a new top speed, Lottie would yell out to try to go faster. And now here he was, his legs burning, as the young woman announced that Wanda and him could take a break. He hadn't seen what Wanda was doing, but as she approached him with a water, he could tell it was hell.

"She's fucking insane." Wanda said, plopping down on the seat next to him. She noticed Pietro slowly take off the sneakers that he had, seeing the bottoms of them ruined.

"She's your friend." He responded, still trying to catch his breath. As he cracked his neck, he saw Lottie approaching them, carrying two boxes and a piece of paper. "Oh presents, for us? You shouldn't have Lottie." He sarcastically said.

"Well, if you don't want the things that would help you, I'll just keep them." She responded, not looking up at him. Pietro always thought Lottie was pretty. She had a sweet face, but a venomous tongue if you pushed her. She placed one of the boxes down, opening the second one. A pair of shoes. She handed them to Pietro, who looked at them questioningly. "Your files said that you went through sneakers a lot because of the speeds, so I had these designed. The material is able flexible and durable, but it should also help you gain speed quicker."

"Why didn't you give them to me before?" He asked, bewildered.

"Cause I thought it would be funny to see you suffer," Lottie smiled sweetly. Pietro felt a small tingling develop in the pit of his stomach. It always happened when she smiled at him. It annoyed him that a simple smile could cause him to feel awkward. "I also wanted to see how fast you could run without them."

"And how fast was I?" Pietro wondered. Lottie made a face, her mouth squeezing up like she ate a lemon or something sour.

"Pretty fast, your top speed was like around 900 mph...but you only held it for a second. So I think you could do better." She studied Pietro for a moment, seeing his face grow annoyed at her comment. She hoped the annoyance wasn't at her, but rather at the fact that his fastest speed lasted for a brief amount of time. She then turned to Wanda, picking up the second package. "I noticed that your telepathy can only be reached in a certain distance, so had this prototype made," Lottie started, handing the box to Wanda. Wanda opened it, picking up what seemed to be a simple ear piece.

"What does it do?" Wanda said, raising her eyebrow at Lottie.

"It should be able to increase your wavelengths when you have it in. It'll give you the ability to hear enemy plans from a safe distance." Lottie saw Wanda's eyes light up. "But, it's just a prototype, so we don't know how far the distance is yet."

"How did you manage to make these things?" Pietro asked, earning a shrug from Lottie.

"I knew that things needed to be made to help the team out, so I did my research and came up with plans. Tony helped me design and build them before he left. I made Sam a lighter pack that has a second set of wings in case one breaks off or something."

"What about the others? What do they get?" Pietro asked, standing up. His legs still felt like jell-o, but he ignored it.

"That's a surprise." Lottie responded, smiling once again. "I'm not gonna have you two test those out today. I just needed to get information on how far you guys can go without the help."

Wanda and Pietro looked at each other in relief, happy that they would not be continuing the exercises. They knew that tomorrow they would be working harder, but at least they would have help from what Lottie brought them.

"What's the paper?" Wanda asked, standing up as well. She pointed to the white paper in Lottie's hand. The girl looked down and quickly folded it up, putting it in her pocket.

"Nothing. Just an assignment Fury gave me." Lottie answered. Wanda stared at her friend for a few seconds, debating whether or not she should question her any further. But, she didn't.

"I thought it was going to be your sentencing from what you did in South Africa." Wanda joked. Lottie blushed deeply, remembering what had happened that would cause her to even need a sentencing.

 _Lottie was tired of working, tired of the heat, and tired of nobody answering her calls. Not even Pepper was picking up her phone, and Pepper usually picked up everything. She had just been encrypting formulas and design plans for the latest Stark Industries weaponry and was growing sleepier with each cipher she typed. Lottie had been stationed in South Africa for almost 8 months now, and she had yet to see any of the wild life._

 _"I bet if I took the job in Antarctica, I would be playing with penguins or something. But nooo, Tony's gotta be like 'I need you in South Africa.' Yeah, well I need a raise!" Lottie spoke to herself. She knew better than to complain; Tony was giving her an amazing opportunity and an amazing time away from New York. Lottie hadn't had the easiest time adjusting to life after the Battle of New York, so she looked at this job move as a rather large vacation. The red head's hand moved to her neck, feeling the raised skin of scar tissue. She closed her eyes, letting the memories of what happened run rampant through her mind. Letting out a shaky breath, Lottie shook her head, letting the memories escape. She shouldn't be focusing on that. She was alive and healthy and happy._

 _Lottie decided that maybe work was the last thing she needed to be doing. Saving the material that she had worked on for hours, she opened a web browser and looked up animal sanctuaries in the area she was in. Her location wasn't remote, but it was far away enough from the city of Johannesburg. She quickly found an elephant sanctuary that wasn't a long distance away and shut her computer after writing the information down. She ran back to her room and changed from the slightly sweaty clothes she was wearing, to a long flowy black skirt and a white tank top. She put on her sandals and grabbed a floppy hat and her camera before calling for someone to drive her. She preferred to be driven by the locals of the small town she was living in as a way to connect with the people. After a half hour car ride with a family of four, whom decided to also go to the elephant sanctuary, Lottie was graced with seeing her first wild animal. She had seen wild animals at zoos, of course, but this was different. These animals weren't locked away at night time and had large amounts of space to roam free. She picked up her camera and snapped pictures of some elephants, and even caught a picture of a rhinoceros._

 _After wondering around the sanctuary and learning about the animals that were protected and watched over, Lottie strayed away from the pack. She had been keeping a close eye on a certain female elephant. And the elephant seemed to notice Lottie's interest and stayed at a safe distance away from the group, as if she wanted to be noticed, but not on purpose. Lottie caught sight of the elephant and smiled to herself. All that separated them was a few yards and a wire fence. Lottie rolled her eyes; she hacked through the Russian government's database in 11th grade, she could easily get through a wire fence. However, Lottie found that when she finished getting through the fence, her skirt was tattered and her hat was stuck in the fence. Shrugging to herself, she slowly walked to the elephant, who walked cautiously towards the red head. Lottie knew what she was doing was most likely illegal, but then she also thought to herself that these animals didn't belong to anyone, so who was she really hurting?_

 _"Hey pretty girl," She said softly to the elephant. She was so close. Lottie put her hand out slowly and touched the trunk of the elephant. "Aren't you amazing?" Lottie smiled as the elephant made a small noise. She hoped that the sound would be out of satisfaction and not anger. A light bulb went off in Lottie's head as the animal seemed to get more comfortable with her. She took her shoes off and went to the side of the elephant, slowly trying to climb up the body. After a couple of falls, she finally made it to the top of the elephant. "I hope Eliza Thornberry taught me well enough." Lottie murmured to herself. But, as soon as the adventure began, it ended just as quickly._

 _"Excuse me ma'am," A voice on a speaker said. "Get off the elephant now." Lottie looked around and saw a group of men slowly surround the enclosure. Lottie could see the family she went with watching on in shock; the two kids cheering as the elephant got bored of the humans and began to walk away. "Ma'am, don't go any further please."_

 _"I'm not exactly controlling what the elephant is doing!" She yelled back. The elephant seemed to understand what was happening and stopped walking. Lottie, not so gracefully, climbed off the elephant and walked back to the people with her hands up in the air. One tall man grabbed her and forced her arms behind her back. "Hey! Ow! Watch it!" Lottie complained. These were not police officers, these were the people in charge of protecting the animals and right now it looked as if Lottie was kidnapping an elephant. The man led her through the small crowd that had formed and into the security building. She saw more men and women that worked in the security department talk on their radio._

 _"_ _Watch the hands!" Lottie said as the grip seemed to tighten. "I work for Tony Stark, I need those."_

 _"Tony Stark?" An accented voice called. A woman walked forward and the man holding Lottie seemed to stand taller, if that was possible. "You said you work for Tony Stark?"_

 _"Yes?" Lottie said, suddenly unsure if that was a good idea._

 _"Let her go," The woman told the man, who hesitantly let Lottie go. "Tony Stark has donated money to keep the elephant sanctuaries here running. So, I'll let you off with a warning." The woman led Lottie to the door of the building. "But, the next time I see you near those fences, I will have my people taze you. Got it?" Lottie nodded, her face drained of some color. She quickly walked away from the building and back to the family she came with, who were all scolding her for doing such a stupid thing._

"No...no, don't remind me of that." Lottie responded, as Wanda laughed at the face Lottie was making as she remembered what happened. Pietro stood there, confused as Lottie hid her blushing face as Wanda laughed harder.

"What happened in South Africa?" He asked.

"Don't!" Lottie begged, but it was too late, Wanda had already started talking.

"She almost got arrested for riding an elephant." Pietro blinked a few times before laughing along with his sister.

"I hate you guys." Lottie huffed, storming away from the twins as they continued to laugh.

* * *

Lottie sat in her office for the first time, rereading the assignment Fury gave her. It had been encoded, but it was simple enough for Lottie to figure out the code and decipher what was on the piece of paper. Fury had been worried that Ultron had a second plan. He had been working with Vision and the two found that Ultron, before the Avengers arrived in Sokovia downloaded a hidden file onto the internet. The man and the android couldn't break the firewall into it, so they believed Lottie would be able to.

Lottie reread the paper for a third time, unable to really comprehend the possibility of Ultron still being out there. She looked up at her screen, typing in a few codes to try to get through the firewall, but it was to no use. So, she decided something else. Copying what Tony did during the beginnings of the Ultron program, Lottie set up a system, where her computer would continue to try to get through the firewall, and if it did, she would be contacted immediately. The urgency of Fury's message is what really frightened Lottie. Though she had not met Ultron, she had heard of his philosophy of evolving and the plans he had for the world. If he was still out there, then the Avengers had to be ready to fight again. Lottie heard her office door open and close and looked over, seeing Pietro walk in. The two had very few conversations since they met; the occasional hello and bump into each other. But, other than those, they kept their distance. So his sudden arrival confused Lottie.

"Can I help you?" She asked, turning the screen off on her computer. Pietro noticed her swiftness, but chose to ignore questioning her. That was something Lottie really liked about the Maximoff's; they didn't try to get to the bottom of what she was doing.

"I need to ask you something about Wanda." He replied. This sparked her interest. Was Wanda keeping something from Pietro?

"Shoot." She said. Pietro seemed to be hesitant at first. He opened his mouth, but then quickly shut it, as if he was trying to find the right words to say.

"Wanda trusts you, and you two seem to be good friends."

"I hope we are, or it would be really awkward for me to just walk into her room." Lottie mused.

"Is something going on between my sister and the android?" He blurted out. Lottie looked at Pietro for a moment, unsure if that was what he was really wondering. But his look of almost desperation told Lottie that this is what he came to her for.

"Not that I know of," She said, "But I'm sure she would tell one of us if there was" She insisted.

"She's always talking to you, though. And don't girls usually talk about boys with one another?" Lottie could tell he was not very comfortable talking about this with her.

"No, Pietro. We talk about taking over the world and turning into lizards." She quipped. Pietro looked at her confused and she shook her head, smiling slightly. "We sometimes talk about boys, but no. She hasn't told me if anything is going on between them. Why?"

"They are always giggling with one another." He retorted. Pietro paused for a moment before continuing, "I don't like him."

"Well, I'm sure Wanda hasn't liked some of the girls you brought home, but she kept her mouth shut." Lottie accused, sharply. "Besides, she's a grown woman and can like who she wants." Lottie said, sticking up for her friend.

"I understand that," Pietro started, ignoring her first comment, "But I'm her brother." Lottie looked at him for a moment. She suddenly really understood him. She had seen the look on his face before, in Pepper.

"Look, I get that you want to protect her and everything, but Wanda can handle herself." Lottie said to him, her voice softer. Pietro sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew that Lottie was right, but he still felt obligated to protect her. He heard the sound of a chair scraping and looked up to see Lottie walking towards him.

"Is something else on your mind, Pietro?" She asked quietly. She was frowning and her gaze made Pietro feel on edge. Her green eyes seemed to pierce through him and Pietro couldn't help but flinch and look away from her.

"No." He lied. Lottie's frowned deepened and she looked down at her hands briefly.

"When I look at you, I feel like I'm looking in the mirror." She admitted to him, causing Pietro to look back to her face. She looked back up at him, his eyes having a dull sheen to them. There was a tint of confusion in them and she continued. "They said my heart stopped beating for 3 minutes. I had lost too much blood and they couldn't replenish it quick enough. 3 minutes of nothing and then a heart beat. The team doesn't know that, I don't want them to know that," She paused, her thoughts catching up with her words. "Pietro, I know that look, so don't...don't pretend like you aren't hurting or in pain. Don't pretend to me, cause I know exactly how you are feeling." She finished. Pietro looked at her with a pained expression.

"Barton told me what happened to you." He spoke quietly. His hand reached up and traced the scar on Lottie's neck. He could feel her tense up underneath his finger. "How did you...how did you cope?" Lottie looked at him, he looked and sounded like a lost boy. Lottie's hand slowly went to his and took it away from her neck. She kept her hand on his.

"I push myself into my work." She admitted. Lottie's mind was racing; she usually kept to herself about how she was feeling. This confession was a new feeling, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. "I feel like if my mind stays on something else, it'll be easier to forget." She smiled weakly at him.

"Dr. Cho told me I had to rest for a few weeks before I would start training, but I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts." Pietro told her. "Do you ever feel like you shouldn't have been saved?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"Pietro..."

"I'm serious. I'm grateful for what Barton did, but everything just feels wrong." Lottie bit her lip gently, began to walk away from Pietro to the door. She locked it and shut the blinds, that way no one would walk in during the conversation. She turned back to Pietro, who was watching her every move.

"Why did it happen? What caused Loki to do it?" Pietro asked her.

"Loki knew that I could get into S.H.I.E.L.D's databases. I designed the program that caused the helicarrier to stop working." Lottie sat down again, offering Pietro a seat. He quickly took the seat and continued to listen to Lottie's story. "Um...Clint and Natasha found me and was able to stop the trance I was in. I saw the damage that I had helped cause and felt like I needed to do something. Loki saw that I was trying to turn the machine off and that enraged him. How could a simple human ruin his great plan? So, he...he um..." She looked down, her voice breaking as she continued on.

"He did that." Pietro said, saving Lottie from a break down as she talked about what happened. Lottie gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Yes. I was rushed to the hospital after that, died, came back, and then everything just seemed...different." Lottie frowned. "I couldn't sleep for the first 8 months. I was in South Africa after 3 months in the hospital, so I was glad that the team didn't have to wake up every night because I would be screaming. It got better after a while, work helped. Drinking helped even more, as sad as that sounds. I had always done crazy and wild things, but I feel the more I do stupid and reckless things, the more alive I feel." Lottie laughed to herself. "Sorry, that just sounds stupid."

"No, it doesn't." Lottie looked at Pietro. He was staring at her, a slight smile on his lips and Lottie blushed, looking away from him.

"The point is, that 2 years later and I am still coping. I'll probably be coping for the rest of my life. But, I wouldn't still be alive if I didn't try to get better." She told him. Pietro nodded and sat back in the seat. "Just remember, Pietro...you aren't alone."

Pietro looked at Lottie, who gave him a soft smile.

 _No._ Pietro thought to himself. _I'm not alone._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I only own Lottie blah blah blah, all recognizable characters are Marvel's and Stan Lee's**

Lottie watched as Pietro laced up his sneakers. It had been 2 days since he came to her office. 2 days since they have spoken to one another again, except for the one time they have to talk to one another. Lottie wondered if she had said something wrong to the man, or if she had shared too much. She frowned to herself and looked at the agenda sheet. It hadn't changed since the first time the Maximoff twins started working with her, so she didn't know why she still had it. But, it made her feel like she knew what was going on, so she kept it.

"Lottie, you okay?" A voice asked. The red head looked up and smiled when she saw Steve standing next to her.

"Yeah. Just a little stressed." She lied with a sigh. She hated lying to Steve; they had always been close, so lying to him felt like she was lying to family. Steve gave her a worried face and looked up to where she had just been looking. Pietro had just finished putting the shoes on and was making his way towards his sister. Steve could see the man's lips moving, but couldn't make it out.

"Stressed over what?" Steve questioned, looking down at Lottie. Her hair was up in a sloppy attempt of a bun, with strands hanging down in different spots. She had bluish bags under her eyes, but she attempted to hide them by wearing her glasses.

"Work." She lied again, beginning to yawn. She got up and walked over to another table, which was filled with water bottles, coffee, and fruit. Lottie grabbed the box of coffee and brought it over to her desk, deciding that she needed it more than the others. Her eyes flickered over to Wanda and Pietro, who were laughing amongst each other. She wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and poured too much coffee into her mug.

"Shit!" Lottie yelled, getting some of the hot liquid onto her hand. Wanda and Pietro heard the yell and looked up to see Lottie clutching her hand.

"Are you okay?" Steve said, rushing over to her side. Her hand had turned bright red from the coffee and he could see Lottie was trying to hold back curses.

"I-I'll be fine," She tried to blink away the tears. "I'll be right back." She hurried out of the practice room and into the bathroom. Lottie turned on the cold water and put her burnt hand under it, silently cursing in pain as the cool liquid washed onto her hand. Her hand was shaking and she could see small blisters starting to rise onto her skin.

"Are you okay?" Lottie looked into the mirror to see Pietro standing in the bathroom.

"This is a girl's bathroom." She responded, looking back at her hand. She bit her lip hard, hoping that he would leave. But, he didn't. Instead, Pietro walked over to Lottie and gently took her hand out from under the water. "Ow, ow, ow." Lottie cried, even though Pietro was handling her hand with the utmost delicacy.

"You need to have someone look at this."

"You are looking at it," She joked around.

"I meant, you know what, never mind. I'm taking you to the hospital wing." He asserted.

"I don't think that's necessary." She started to say, but Pietro, as always, didn't listen to her. He picked her up, causing Lottie to protest and then he ran off with her through the facility to the hospital wing. Lottie didn't fully comprehend what was happening until he placed her down. She felt dizzy and slightly nauseous. "Never do that again without warning me first." She told Pietro, who simply started holding her injured hand again. The skin to skin contact caused the pain to resurface and Lottie's face contorted to show what she was feeling.

"You're going to be okay." Pietro told Lottie. Her eyes were tearing up and Pietro thought that she was going to bite a hole in her lip with how hard she was squeezing. "Lottie," She looked up at him when he said her name, "You are going to be okay." He gave her a reassuring smile, which she tried to return.

* * *

The nurse who has wrapping Lottie's hand kept attempting to flirt with Pietro, but the blonde only watched Lottie's facial expressions. They were a mix of annoyance and pain. Every so often, Lottie would catch his eye and redness would rise up to her cheeks and she would look away. Pietro couldn't help but smile each time she would look away.

"You are all good," the nurse said, causing Lottie to look at her. The nurses eyes moved to Pietro, before looking over at Lottie again with a small grimace and walking away.

"How is your hand?" Pietro asked, raising from the seat he had been sitting in since they had started treating Lottie's hand. Luckily, the burn wasn't as bad as Lottie was making it out to be, but it still need antibiotics and to be watched carefully.

"It stings," She replied, jumping off of the table she sat on. She stretched her legs, getting rid of the soreness the table gave her. "The nurse seemed more interested in you than she did with helping me." Pietro chuckled slightly, causing Lottie's heart beat to increase slightly. "So, this is how our friendship is going to be?" Lottie suddenly asked.

"What to you mean?"

"The only time we talk to one another is if the other one needs help." Lottie remarked. Pietro frowned slightly at the small revelation. Is that really the only time the two interacted, besides the training program?

"So, let's talk now." Pietro knew this was probably not the best time to start a conversation, but with the look on Lottie's face, he knew there was something on her mind.

"So you know how Thor came back and everything?" She asked. Pietro nodded in response, signaling for Lottie to continue, "What did he tell you guys?"

Pietro went stiff. The only time he had talked to the Asgardian was when Lottie and Wanda went out after the argument between the Potts sisters. As soon as they left, Thor came back along with Nick Fury. The god explained to the team what some of his vision meant and how the Infinity Stones needed to be found. Luckily, the Mind Stone, Power Stone, Space Stone, and Reality Stone were found, most in the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, Fury made it clear not to share this information with anyone, including Lottie.

"I can't tell you." He started and Lottie gave him a forward look. He held up his hands in surrender and continued, "I'm being honest, I'm not allowed to tell you."

"Not allowed?" Lottie responded, bewildered. A flash of anger went through her features and she started to walk out of the hospital wing. "Training is cancelled for today." Lottie could hear Pietro's footsteps follow her as she stomped through the hallways. They weren't allowed to tell her? Lottie thought the Avengers needed her help, but now they were keeping her in the dark. Pietro continued to follow Lottie, noticing the direction they were heading in was that of her office. As he followed Lottie, multiple people took notice of the usually happy girls sudden attitude change. Pietro could only guess that she had a scowl on her face. He grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking.

"Lottie, what are you doing?" He asked. She looked at him, annoyance and anger clearly written on her face. She looked from his hand on her forearm to his face.

"Look, you can either help me break into a highly secured government database or you can keep your pretty mouth shut." She tore her arm away from him and continued down her path. Pietro kept still, looking back at the direction of the training arena where Steve and Wanda were probably wondering about their whereabouts. It would be so easy to just run there and tell them what Lottie would be doing. He then looked in the direction of Lottie, seeing her turn the corner that lead to her office. Lottie was smart, she would have found out what was going on eventually, even if she didn't ask him what was going on.

"Fuck me." Pietro sighed to himself as he followed the direction Lottie was going. He didn't even bother knocking on her office door when he got to it. Pietro walked into the dimly lit room, seeing Lottie already at her desk, typing away on her computer.

"Lock the door, Speedy." She ordered him. Ignoring the nickname, Pietro did as he was told, shutting the blinds as well. The last thing he needed was someone seeing what they were doing. He pulled a chair up next to Lottie's and sat down.

"Tony said you sucked at covering your tracks." He told her a few seconds later. Lottie stopped typing and looked at Pietro, the corner of her mouth twitching up slightly.

"I'll just have to fix that, won't I?" She smirked, looking back at her computer. Pietro was used to swiftness, but watching Lottie type away code after code on her computer, he suddenly felt slow. He watched the screen change every so often as she opened new windows. He noticed one window that stayed in the corner of the screen, running it's own tests.

"What's that?" He asked her, taping the screen lightly. She paused briefly, looking where he pointed.

"You have your secrets, I have mine." Lottie said, continuing to enter codes into the system. Soon enough, files popped up on her screen and she sat back in the seat, carefully reading them. "It's making it seem like I'm Nick Fury looking at the files." She told Pietro with a proud smile on her face. Pietro didn't respond, only watched as she clicked through the files, reading them all.

"You aren't supposed to know about this." He stated.

"Well, now I do." She clicked on a file, pausing. Pietro could see her hand tense up. It was the picture of scepter. He quickly grabbed her mouse and clicked another file, covering up the scepter. "Thanks." Lottie mumbled, regaining the color that had been drained out of her face. The room stayed quiet, Pietro watching as Lottie copied the files and printed them out. She typed in a code quickly and had the information on her computer erased, that way no one would know she had been looking at it. He watched her read the print outs, seeing her facial expressions change every so often.

"Do you want to go on an adventure?" Lottie suddenly asked him. Pietro looked at her questioningly, before realizing what she was talking about.

"No. You aren't going out to find the last two." He asserted.

"But it wouldn't be me, it would be us." She whined. "I can't sit here knowing what I know."

"Even if I let you go, where would you look?" Pietro asked her. Lottie looked stumped for a minute. That was true, she had no idea where to look first. She looked at the blank computer screen, seeing her reflection in it.

"I-I'll figure that out." She looked back to Pietro. "But, I know I can't just sit here and do nothing."

"The last time you tried to help, you almost got killed."

"The last time I tried to help, there was imminent danger. This is just looking around for a gem with no threats." She reasoned, hoping that he would get on her side. "Plus, I know you are bored of being stuck here. It'll be like your first mission as an Avenger and the rest of the guys will know I am safe if you are around."

"Your sister would freak out," He began, but he was quickly cut off.

"My sister doesn't have to know." Lottie's voice was icy.

"You...haven't talked to her since, have you?" The look on the woman's face answered the question for her. "You have to at least tell her."

"I don't have to tell Pepper shit. She's not my mother." Lottie crossed her arms over her chest; she resembled a little girl rather than a young woman. Pietro frowned at her answer.

"I'll go with you, but you have to tell Pepper." He declared. Lottie looked at him, her mouth agape. So this was his strategy.

"Fine." She grumbled, before standing up. "Guess it's time to tell the others?" Pietro's eyes widened and he groaned, knowing how much trouble he would be in. Lottie giggled at his reaction, "Don't worry, I'll protect you from them."

* * *

Lottie had texted all the remaining members of the team to meet up with her in a meeting room. Pietro sat at one of the seats, nervous about the reaction the team would have. His fingers were rapping on the wooden table as he waited for the rest of the team. Lottie sat to his left, looking much calmer than her friend. She gently put her hand over Pietro's fussy one, stopping him from making the noise.

"Aw, that's cute." A female voice said as the door opened. The two looked up to see Natasha smirking at them, with the rest of the team behind her, confused looks on their faces. Lottie quickly pulled her hand back and put it on her lap. Both her and Pietro blushed, though Lottie's was far more noticeable.

"What's cute?" Wanda's voice called. The team spilled into the room, sending Lottie and Pietro odd looks as they walked in. "Where were you two? I've been looking for you everywhere." She continued, sitting down across from her brother.

"He took me to the hospital wing. There was a long wait." Lottie lied about the last part, suddenly nervous to tell everyone. She felt Pietro lightly kick her in the foot and she sent him a small glare.

"What's up, Lottie-pop?" Steve asked, using her nickname. Lottie couldn't help but smile as he called her that, but she soon became focused again and looked at everyone in the room, her green eyes resting on Thor.

"So..." She drawled out the word, leaning back in the chair. "Those Infinity Stones, huh?" Everyone in the room froze after she finished, too shocked that she would even know. Suddenly, Thor grabbed a hold of Pietro, slamming him into the wall.

"You think of the information I told a joke?!" The Asgardian yelled. "You were told not to tell her!" Lottie's eyes widened and she got up, putting a hand on Thor's arm, trying to pry him away from Pietro.

"He didn't tell me!" She shouted. Thor looked down at Lottie and then back to Pietro, glaring intensely at him. Thor let Pietro go, the latter man rolling out his shoulder. The two glared at one another, their jaws set. Lottie moved in between the two men, feeling very small and weak as she attempted to separate them. "He wouldn't tell me. I found out myself." Lottie reaffirmed. She could feel Pietro behind her, tense and ready to strike if need be. She looked over Thor's shoulder, though it was difficult, seeing the rest of the team on edge as well. She looked to Steve with pleading eyes, hoping he would help.

"Enough," Steve said. The simple word was sufficient, as it caused Thor to back away from Pietro and Lottie. He was still glaring at the former, though. Lottie quickly turned to Pietro.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, noticing his hand on his shoulder, rolling it out still.

"I'll be fine." He mumbled back to her, before going back to the chair to sit down. Lottie let out a shaky breath and turned back to everyone.

"How did you find out?" Steve asked her.

"How do I usually find things out?" She replied dryly.

"Now that you know, what do you plan on doing?" Thor questioned. Lottie looked at the blonde, whose eyes were still hard on Pietro. She didn't realize he would react like that and blame Pietro.

"I'm going to find them." She informed them. And suddenly the room was filled with the protests of everyone in the room. Even Vision was saying how it was a bad idea for her to get involved. She tried to speak over them, but each voice interrupted her voice and thoughts. She looked down at Pietro, who was quiet during the whole ordeal. He looked up at her, sighing when he saw the nervousness in her face.

"Hey, hey," He yelled, getting the room to quiet down. "I already tried to talk her out of it. And it didn't work. She thinks it's a good idea if I go with her to find the gems." There was a chorus of complaints from the rest of the team.

"No matter what you say, I'm still going to search for them!" She said loudly to the team over their voices. She continued to speak once the voices died down again, "I get that you all are worried for my safety, but I know I can do this." There was a silence, one that made Lottie feel very uncomfortable. She wished someone would speak up.

"I think we should let her do it." Vision suddenly said. Lottie smiled at him, happy that he thought she was capable enough to do what she wanted. The rest of the people looked at one another after the android spoke.

"Very well," Thor spoke. "She will help us find it."

"Oh why thank you, great god of the thunder!" Lottie spoke, curtsying. She was trying to ease the tension in the room, and it seemed to be working. "I shant disappoint you!"

The room was quiet at first, until Thor burst out laughing. His great booming laugh made all the tension dissipate in the room and everyone else joined in laughing. Lottie looked over to Pietro, who was shaking his head as he smiled. She felt small butterflies in her stomach as she looked at him. Lottie felt an elbow in her side and looked over to see Wanda smirking at her. Lottie blushed and pushed her friend gently, trying to get the excited feeling in her stomach to go away.

* * *

"I saw those googly eyes you were giving Pietro." Wanda stated. She was laying down on Lottie's bed, looking through one of the various books the woman had in her room.

"I wasn't making googly eyes." Lottie was sitting on her bed, carefully painting Wanda's toe nails a metallic blue color. "I was just admiring the fact that he stuck up for me."

"Yeah, sure." Wanda didn't believe her. "Be honest with me, do you like my brother?" Wanda sat up, hugging her knees as she watched Lottie paint the color on her toes.

"Not in the way you are thinking." Lottie looked up at her, twisting the cap back on the bottle. "He's nice to me and I can easily talk to him about things."

"Things that you can't talk about with me?" Wanda raised her eyebrow.

"I mean...we both went through basically the same thing. It's just nice to talk to someone who feels the way I did."

"Would you tell me if you liked him? 'Cause I really don't mind if you did." Wanda wiggled her toes, admiring the simple paint job that her friend did.

"So if I tell you what I would do to your brother if he showed up naked at my door, you wouldn't mind?" Lottie questioned. Wanda laughed, making a disgusted face.

"Okay, no not that. I mean like, if you end up having feelings for him, it would be totally fine with me."

"It's a good thing I am heartless and incapable of having feelings." Lottie joked, smiling at Wanda. She got off the bed to put the nail polish away. "Besides, I'm too busy to begin liking anyone." Lottie started to take out her contact lenses.

"Too busy doing what? Staring at Pietro and working?" Lottie laughed, but didn't answer Wanda. She put her glasses on and went back to the bed, laying next to Wanda. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering how many of those little dots were up there. Probably thousands. Her mind wandered to the possibility of developing feelings for Pietro. Sure, he was very attractive and he made her more self-aware and her stomach act up. But, he was also Wanda's brother. Lottie mentally shook out the thoughts of being with Pietro.

"Hey Wanda?" Lottie spoke after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes?"

"If we are like 50 and still have not found the one, want to get married?" She joked, though her voice was totally serious.. Wanda laughed loudly and Lottie joined in.

"It's a deal." Wanda laughed, continuing the joke.

"Oh God, how am I going to break this to Vision?" Lottie cried.

"You bitch!" Wanda laughed, hitting Lottie gently on the arm. Lottie cackled, a small snort coming out. The two went silent, Lottie covering her mouth with her hand. They both began laughing again, harder than before.

"I've never done that before!" Lottie said while laughing. She could feel the tears forming in the corners of her eyes and a slight pain in stomach from laughing too hard. Wanda already had tears going down her cheeks. Soon the laughter died down and the two girls were just smiling at the ceiling.

"Oh hey!" Lottie blurted out, sitting up quickly. "I thought of superhero names for you and Pietro."

"Superhero names? Is that necessary?"

"Do you want evil assholes knowing your actual name and hunting you down?" Lottie raised an eyebrow.

"Good point." Wanda sat up as well. "Well, what are they?"

"For you Scarlet Witch." Wanda opened her mouth to argue, but Lottie continued talking. "Your eyes go all like red and I overheard one of the agents in training describe what you do as witch-like."

"I'll think about it," Wanda responded, not totally sure if she liked the name. "What about Pietro's?"

"Quicksilver. 'Cause he's quick and the sneakers I gave him are silver."

"Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver?" Wanda began, smiling slightly. "And what would yours be? The Digital Pig?" Wanda mimicked Lottie's snort and began laughing hysterically. Lottie glared at Wanda and grabbed her pillow, smacking Wanda in the face.

"I hate you so much," Lottie mumbled, as Wanda continued to laugh and snort.


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER:** **I do not own any Marvel characters or plot, I only own Lottie and whatever is not recognizable.**

 **AN: Sorry for the late update. I've been pretty busy the last couple of days and have not had the chance to write anything. Hope you enjoy this chapter and sorry that it is on the shorter side.**

"What trouble has she gotten into now?"Clint asked, while struggling to get the baby in his arms to stop crying. However, baby Nathaniel did not seem to want to stop crying, as the baby continuously wailed for the past half hour. Clint tried everything; changing the diaper, feeding, burping, giving the baby toys, but nothing seemed to be working. The crying escaladed when the telephone rang.

"She knows about the gems. She tried to weasel it out of Pietro." The voice on the other end of the line answered. Natasha had been calling Clint with updates on how the team was doing, especially since Lottie was now working closely with the Avengers. She heard a small groan come from Clint. "Baby issues or Pietro issues?" She asked him. Natasha knew that Clint did not trust Pietro around Lottie. Steve didn't either. She rolled her eyes when the two of them told her their reasoning behind the distrust.

"The stupid blonde Maximoff." Clint grumbled into the phone. Luckily for him, Laura walked into the room and took Nathaniel into her arms. She sat at the rocking chair and quickly got the baby to stop crying. She was his savior.

"Clint," Natasha sighed, her voice getting his attention again as he quietly stepped out of the baby's room, silently thanking his wife. "Lottie is a grown woman, she can handle herself. Besides, you should know that he didn't tell her. She found out on her own." Clint rolled his eyes; leave it to Lottie to find the next dangerous 'adventure.'

"She's reckless."

"She's helped out the team a lot." Natasha responded. "She's been creating things for each of the members. She made something for your bow and arrows." Natasha could picture the look on Clint's face. One in surprise, but also a proud look.

"What is it?" He asked, after a few moments of silence.

"She told me I couldn't tell you. You have to find out for yourself." Natasha smirked, now picturing a frustrated look on his face. "How's playing house?" She asked.

"I think I am finally getting the hang of it. But, it's nice just relaxing and rebuilding the house. Laura thinks I'll just end up tearing the whole place down and starting from scratch." He chuckled softly.

"I'll talk to you later with new updates," Natasha told him. "Lottie wanted to talk to me."

"Good luck." Clint teased, before the line went dead. He put the phone down, hearing the soft footsteps of Laura as she walked into the room.

"Baby's asleep." She reassured him. "Was that Natasha?"

"Yeah," Clint nodded. "Just updating me on everyone."

"You mean updating you on Lottie." Laura crossed her arms over her chest. "She's 23, Clint. You can't baby her forever." Laura told him, walking into a different room, leaving Clint in his thoughts.

* * *

Lottie stared intently at the screen in front of her. The system she put in had found one missing file so far, and the subject of the file confused Lottie slightly. It was a file on Pepper. When she first began working for Tony during the time he joined the Avengers, Lottie and Pepper had to fill out information, just in case something were to happen. Lottie never fully understood the need for an emergency file, since she was constantly with a member of the Avengers team, but she didn't question Fury's decision. Lottie tapped her fingers on the computer desk, biting her cheek slightly. Her other hand was sitting on the keyboard, wrapped in a bandage. Her burn was starting to heal, but she kept it wrapped in case she bumped into something.

Lottie looked to the edge of her computer screen for the 5th time in 20 minutes. Pietro had left her a sticky note, reminding her to contact Pepper at some point. It was part of their deal; he would help her find the closest Infinity Stone and she would try to mend the hurt between her and her sister. While she thought the deal was slightly one sided, being more for her benefit, Lottie couldn't help but feel relieved that he didn't ask for anything in return. Pietro was difficult to read, due to the wall he always built up. Lottie was able to get passed it once or twice when they spoke, but other than that, he remained like a stone. Pietro had also taken the time to actually talk to Lottie, like he said he would. They were practically inseparable, except for when they had private training and when she was with Wanda. Wanda had teased Lottie, saying that the more Pietro and her were together the more she could hear the wedding bells. Lottie would either push Wanda or tell her a choice of colorful words in response. Pietro and her were partners and friends; nothing more, nothing less.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" A voice asked, causing Lottie to jump practically out of her seat. Natasha was sitting on the left side of her desk, holding the picture frame the younger red head had on her desk. Natasha smiled to herself; it was of Lottie, her, and Clint during the time they moved her into the facility. Lottie had jumped on Clint's back, hugging the man from behind. Natasha, having been next to the two when it happened, was laughing in the picture. While Natasha wasn't the closest with Lottie, Clint and Steve having a deeper bond with the girl, she felt very protective of her.

"Jeez, Nat. I hate it when you do that." Lottie commented, pulling Natasha away from her her thoughts. She put the picture frame down and smirked at Lottie.

"Yeah, well, you should learn to pay more attention to your surroundings." She dryly responded, causing Lottie to roll her eyes. "So, what is it, kid?"

"Oh right," Lottie looked from Nat to her computer screen, scrunching her nose slightly as she tried to regain her thoughts. "So, um, Ultron took all of the files, wiped Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D clean basically. Well, someone just re-uploaded one of the files."

"What do you mean?" Natasha jumped down from the desk and looked at the screen in front of Lottie's face. "Pepper?" She questioned.

"I can't trace the IP address. It's always changing, jumping from computer to computer. Whoever uploaded it, wanted me to find it, but didn't want me to trace them. Obviously, what kind of hacker wants to be found?" Lottie snorted.

"How long ago did the file upload?"

"About an hour and a half ago, took me some time to actually get through the firewalls and viruses to find the file."

"So this guy is good?"

"Yes," Lottie said, gritting her teeth slightly, "but, I'm better. I mean I found it. But, there is something else."

"Something else? Well, what could be worse than an untraceable person with all of S.H.I.E.L.D's files?" Natasha sarcastically quipped.

"The last page I had to get through was weird. Like a game of hangman," Natasha raised her eyebrow. "Yeah I know. I solved it though. It said 'there are no strings on me.' But I don't get it, it's from Pinocchio. Who would quote that?" Lottie laughed slightly and looked up at Natasha. Her laugh stopped immediately when she saw how Natasha stiffened and turned white. "Nat?" Lottie asked softly. The Russian woman suddenly walked out of the office, leaving Lottie utterly confused. She looked back at the completed puzzle, trying to understand what it meant.

"Strings?"

* * *

"Lottie found something." Natasha said, walking to the main S.H.I.E.L.D room where Fury, Agent Hill, Steve, and a few other agents were. Some agents who were working on their computers looked over at Natasha.

"She found a gem already?" Agent Hill questioned.

"She's faster than I expected," Fury chuckled.

"No, not a gem." The three people in front of her frowned in confusion. What possibly could Lottie have found? "Who do we know that says 'there are no strings on me?'"

"Ultron." Steve answered, his posture straightening. "She found Ultron?"

"That makes no sense, Vision destroyed the last of him." Agent Hill responded.

"But what if he didn't? What if Ultron knew something like that was going to happen?" Natasha asked the three of them.

"And what if it's someone is just coping him?" Fury asked.

"Nat, what did Lottie find?" Steve looked at Natasha, ignoring Fury's question.

"Someone uploaded Pepper's file. Only Pepper's file." Fury, Agent Hill, and Steve looked at Natasha questioningly. Pepper wasn't even apart of S.H.I.E.L.D; her file was just put in for emergency purposes, so why would someone upload it? "Lottie is trying to figure it out too.

"Have her check if there is anything different in the file, maybe whoever uploaded it changed something for a clue." Fury ordered.

"Should we tell Stark?" Agent Hill asked.

"No," Fury responded. "If we find anything threatening about the upload, then we'll tell Stark. For now, this is just a small find. The message is to be looked at, but it does not mean it is Ultron." Natasha nodded and left the room, going back to Lottie's office with the new order and to help the girl if she needed it.

"Sir," Steve said after Natasha left. "What if it is Ultron?"

Fury, however, did not answer the question. He did not want to think of the possibility of Ultron being back after the havoc he caused in Sokovia. Plus, with the hunt for the last two Infinity Stones was the utmost importance right now. Steve watched as Fury's mind turned. The solider took off from the room and down the hall, thinking to himself. The last thing the team needed was Ultron back. Steve walked into a recreational room, where Thor was sitting on the couch, intently watching a soccer game.

"These midguardian games are very confusing!" Thor proclaimed when he saw Steve. "Why don't they just pick the ball up like the one in the bright yellow!"

"Thor," Steve started, walking to the television and turning off the screen.

"Ah, so that's how you do it! Who knew the tiny buttons would control the moving picture!" Thor jovially said, standing up.

"Thor, we need to go to Sokovia." Thor furrowed his brow.

"Is the rest of those who avenge coming?" Steve shook his head in response. "Then what is the reason we would go back to those ruins?"

"Just a precaution." Steve replied, beginning to walk out of the recreational room. "This is a private mission, so don't tell anyone."

* * *

Lottie decided it was best that she put away whatever was happening with the random file upload and focus on finding the next gem. She had called Pietro to her office, since she had finally found something that could help find the closest gem.

"So, you are looking for what again?" Pietro asked from where he was seated.

"High levels of gamma radiation. They used that to find the tesseract, so maybe it'll help find a gem." Lottie hoped. She had already put in the equations in the computer in order to search for high levels of gamma radiation, so all she had to do was wait. She had ruled out Asia and Africa as possibilities.

"Wouldn't it be funny if it was right under our noses?" Pietro laughed, looking at Lottie. She was sitting back in her seat, reading a book. She had her glasses on, something he did not know about her. He thought she looked rather cute with the glasses, but kept the compliment to himself. He watched as her nose crinkled slightly when she read something that got her upset and how she could suck in her bottom lip every so often. Pietro got up and ran to where she was, plucking the book out of her hands and ran back to his seat. It was only in a split second that it happened, thanks to his enhanced abilities, so Lottie had no time to react.

"Hey!" She protested, as soon as she realized the book was no longer in her hands. She got up, glaring at Pietro as he flipped through the pages. "Excuse me, sir, but I was reading that."

"And now you are not." He cheekily replied. " _The Hobbit,_ by J.R.R Tolkien." He read aloud.

"Wow, congratulations Pietro, you can read!" Lottie cooed, clapping her hands together. Pietro flipped Lottie the middle finger.

"Why do you read this? Isn't this a children's book?" He questioned.

"It's a classic. And just because the target audience is perhaps for children, it doesn't mean adults can't enjoy it." Lottie explained, grabbing the book back from Pietro. "I've read this book probably a hundred times." She smiled at the overused book. The binding was weak and some of the pages were ready to fall out, but she would never get rid of this book. "My mom used to read it to me before I went to bed. She would never be able to read a full chapter, so Pepper would read the rest to me."

"Why couldn't she finish the chapter?" He asked her.

"My mom hated the way Tolkien wrote, so she would get angry and give up." Lottie told him, laughing at the memory. Pietro watched as Lottie's face lit up as she talked about the memory. "One time she got so frustrated that she threatened to burn the book. I don't think I cried so much in my life other than that moment."

"What other books do you read?"

"All the classics, like _Anna Karenina_ , _Emma_ , _The Count of Monte Cristo_ , _Dracula_. Then there are those cliche books that everyone reads because they are popular in society. The Harry Potter books because, which kid hasn't read those."

"I haven't." Pietro told her, causing Lottie's eyes to widen.

"Well, you need to! Your childhood hasn't really ended until you have read those books!" She exclaimed. "I'll let you borrow my copies." Pietro smiled at Lottie and chuckled to himself. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing's funny. Just the way your face changes when you talk about books is cute." He admitted. Lottie blushed at his revelation. Did her face actually change?

"Well, um..I it's just, books are magic. They take you to another world and let you fall in love with different types of people and, ugh, it's just amazing how books can change a person." Lottie gushed.

"What's your favorite?"

"You can't ask that, that's like asking a mother who her favorite child is." Lottie paused. "But it has to be _Jane Eyre_."

Pietro was about to ask her more about the book, never having read it himself, but Lottie's computer made a beeping noise. They both looked at the computer, Lottie going back to her seat and wheeling closer to the screen. Pietro walked over to the desk, looking over the woman's shoulder.

"What does it say?"

"Extremely high radiation levels at these coordinates." She told him, typing the latitude and longitude points into Google Maps. "Well, I'll be damned." She whispered to herself.

"What? Where is it?"

"You were right about one thing, it is right under our noses. Well, not ours but..."

"Lottie, you are babbling." Pietro told her.

"It's basically on Clint's property," She said, looking back at the screen, showing the Barton residence the location of the gamma radiation.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters or ideas, they all belong to Marvel and Stan Lee**

 **AN: I really appreciate the number of people who read this story, thank you so much for following/favoriting/reviewing, it makes it easier for me to write. That being said, if this chapter gets 5 or more reviews I will upload 2 chapters instead of 1 :D**

If there was one thing Bruce Banner was good at, it was hiding. He could go dark for years if he wanted to; he had in fact done that. However, this time felt different. This time he wasn't just running from himself, he was running from the possibility of hurting people he cared for. Bruce had the idea that the fewer people he was close to, the fewer people he could hurt. And now that he felt close with someone, he was scared. For the first time, Bruce was truly frightened of something other than the _Hulk_ and what he could do.

He thought of the numerous places he could go to to hide. Truthfully, Bruce wanted to go back to Calcutta, seeing as that was the place that made him more at peace. But, he knew that S.H.I.E.L.D would suspect his return to India. So, Bruce decided to stay in a small rural town in Labrador. The town was spacious and people kept to themselves, meaning that Bruce didn't have suspicious eyes or people snooping on him. That didn't mean, however, that Bruce did not snoop. He was still curious and worried about the people he left behind and kept a watchful eye on the activity in S.H.I.E.L.D. And since most of the files on S.H.I.E.L.D were made public due to the HYDRA infiltration. Bruce could easily go unnoticed in the new security system that was being created.

"What's this?" Bruce muttered to himself, as he clicked away on the local library computer. He decided it would be best if he did not have a traceable IP address, just in case he was caught, so the library was the best option. Being the genius that he was, it took no time for him to figure out how to break into the system. He mentally reminded himself to thank Lottie for teaching him, or attempting to teach him, how to find a back door from a different computer. Everything that popped up on S.H.I.E.L.D computers were now accessible to him, including the new findings of his small hacker friend. Bruce's brows furrowed as he read the information over and over again.

"Pepper's file?" He said to himself again. Why is Pepper's file isolated? Bruce rubbed his temples, looking at the file, searching for a clue if there was one. As he passed by Pepper's name for the hundredth time, his eyes paused. Squinting ever so slightly, Bruce noticed that something had been added after Pepper's name, causing some of the words in the file to become unaligned with where they are supposed to be.

"In progress." Bruce said aloud, confused with the statement. What could be 'in progress?' A light bulb suddenly went off in his head and Bruce could feel the color drain from his face. Closing the windows and logging off of the computer, Bruce raced to the library telephone and dialed a number he wished he would forget. The line rang for what seemed forever, until a male voice picked it up.

"Hello?"

"The file says 'in progress.' Whoever put it up is targeting Pepper." Bruce said quickly.

"Bruce?" The male voice on the other line said. "How did you know about-"

"That's not important, Director." Bruce cut off Nick Fury's voice. "Someone is going after Pepper."

"Why would someone target Ms. Potts?" Bruce heard a faint, but rough noise of a chair scrapping against floor, as he guessed Fury was beginning to stand up.

"I-I don't know." Bruce stuttered, attempting to think of possibilities. "But, whoever put it up, whoever is targeting her wanted S.H.I.E.L.D or someone to find out." Bruce paused, collecting his thoughts.

"We'll send a warning to Tony to watch out." Fury reassured the man on the other line. "Dr. Banner, where are you?" He said after a few seconds.

"It's not important anymore. Don't try to send anyone to find me, I'm coming to you." And with that he hung up the phone. If this was new information to Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D, what other things could that have missed while he was gone?

* * *

Steve walked through the rubble of what was left of Sokovia. He could see Red Cross flags in the center part of the ruins, where the damage was inflicted the most. It felt weird for him to step through the streets knowing that he caused some of this damage.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Thor asked from behind, taking in the destruction of the small city.

"Anything." Steve answered, continuing forward. Steve wasn't truly sure what he should be looking for; he just knew that they would find something that would answer the Ultron issue. He just had a gut feeling that whatever they would find would be something bad. Steve continued forward, walking on the uneven pavement. He heard whispers in the broken houses, a language he did not understand. He was happy that Thor and him wore normal clothing to blend in and not cause issues with the locals. The last thing they needed was angry Sokovians watching what they were doing.

"We are being watched." He heard Thor whisper to him. Steve looked back at the blonde god, noticing that he had stopped walking. Instead, Thor was looking straight into a home with an open door. Suddenly, Thor walked forward towards the house. Steve was about to protest that nothing was there until he saw the faint outline of a woman in a chair. Walking closer to the house, the woman was indeed watching them.

"I know who you are." She told them, her raspy voice causing Steve to shiver. She was an old woman; a face filled with wrinkles and decades of fighting for her country's rights. Steve heard her mutter something in her language and she began to stand up, grabbing a wooden cane to help her. "You should not be here." The woman said, walking deeper in the house, waving for the two men to follow her.

Thor and Steve looked at one another, nodding to each other that it was safe, and then followed the woman in. She hobbled along into what appeared to be the kitchen, where a kettle was steaming. She struggled to reach for a glass, and when Thor reached up and got it for her, she grimaced slightly but thanked him. The old woman shakily poured the water, dipping a tea bag in. She sat at the table.

"Why shouldn't we be here?" Steve asked her once he saw her get comfortable in the seat. He didn't want to be rude and make her speak to them while she got her hot drink. He had done that before one time when visiting Peggy in the hospital and it proved to be too much for someone so old.

"People are angry. Some blame you, some thank you." Her accent was thick, thicker than the Maximoff's, which caused Steve to strain to understand her. "The Metal Man caused damage that cannot be fixed."

"The Metal Man?" Thor questioned, "You mean the Iron Man?" The woman shook her head.

"The Metal Man came from the rock."

"What rock?" Steve asked, leaning forward. This "metal man" the woman talked about could be Ultron. The woman seemed afraid to speak.

"I will have my son show you." She told them after a few seconds. The woman slowly began to get up, grabbing her cane as she hobbled to another room.

"Do you think she is talking about Ultron?" Thor asked Steve quietly as they waited for the return of the woman.

"What other 'metal man' could she be talking about? Ultron's hideout was underground."

"Yes, but we destroyed it." Thor said, pausing before continuing to talk. "Unless we did not go deep enough."

The woman reappeared, but she was not alone. A man in his mid forties was walking behind her, wiping his hands on a towel. They were talking in Sokovian, the man's voice angry. He stopped talking once he saw the two Avengers in his mother's kitchen. His eyes narrowed and he whispered something to his mother, which she waved off.

"Mikel will show you the rock." She said firmly, nodding her head. She sat back down at the kitchen table, muttering to herself in Sokovian.

"Come." The man, Mikel, ordered Steve and Thor. His voice was rough and had a distrusting tone. He walked past Thor and Steve, slightly bumping the latter man in the shoulder. Steve glared his way at the rudeness, but thought it best not to say anything. This man was helping them. The two followed Mikel silently out of the home and to a rusty old car across the street. Hesitantly, the Avengers got into the car; Thor in the backseat, Steve in the passenger seat. Mikel started the car, the engine spurting awake. After a few seconds of letting the engine run, Mikel slowly drove off in the direction of the woods that surrounded the town.

"Did you know the Maximoffs?" Steve decided to ask, breaking the awkward silence in the car. Mikel grunted in response.

"They were a good family. The whole town's heart went out for the children when the bombs destroyed their home." Mikel's eyes darkened as he continued to talk about what happened to Wanda and Pietro's parents. "I helped get the boy out of the rubble. Screamed and fought with me to get his sister out first."

"What were the kids like?" Steve curiously asked, wanting to know more information about the mysterious Maximoff twins. Mikel did not know that the two men in the car worked with the two Sokovians.

"Before the bomb, they were like normal kids; happy, filled with energy. After the bombs hit, they changed. The boy, Pietro, got angry and hot headed, lashing out at any help. Wanda, his sister, kept everything in. They got involved with the riots as they grew older. My daughter was friends with Wanda, going to riots and rallys with her." Mikel looked over at Steve and then quickly back at Thor, "Your friend, Stark, ruined a pair of good kids and turned them into shells." Mikel looked back at the road, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. "I heard the boy died during this mess."

Steve and Thor did not answer Mikel, knowing too well that Pietro had died, but was now back. Silence followed Mikel's words as he continued to drive, winding on the edge of the forest and the town.

"This is as far as I take you," The Sokovian man told them, stopping the car. It's right ahead of you, next to the cabin."

"Thank you, Mikel." Thor said, getting out of the car.

"Do not come back to Sokovia." Mikel told the two as Steve shut the car door. He sped off in the opposite direction, leaving Thor and Steve to their work.

The two walked up towards the cabin, noticing the ajar front door and the graffiti all over the wooden walls. Most of the graffiti was written in a different language, making it difficult for the two to read what was written. But one word was written in bright red in English: Danger. Whatever was written in Sokovian must have reflected the English word. Thor and Steve decided it would be best not to look in the cabin, remembering that the old woman said what they were searching for came out of a rock. And low and behold, just a few feet away from the cabin was what seemed to be a cave jutting from the broken bedrock. Steve and Thor walked next to the cave, noticing the scratch marks that were imprinted in the stone. The two men looked at one another before slowly walking into the cave.

All that could be heard was the drip of water and the soft grunts of the men as they made their way farther down the cave. Steve put his hand on the rough rock wall which guided him down the unfamiliar terrain. He had almost tripped over a jutted rock on the way down. It seemed as Thor had also been caught on the same rock, because Steve heard the Asgardian stumble.

"The opening is getting bigger." Thor commented as they reached what they hoped to be the end of the cave. The two men stopped walking once they got to the opening, taking in what was in front of them. Steve's eyes shifted from wall to wall. Piles of broken robots, some without a leg, some without a face. However, the piles weren't what caused fear to ripple through the soldier. It was the clear opening of absolutely nothing and the clear footprints of what was in the cave walking out of the rock. Steve looked at Thor, who was equally disturbed with what they found, and spoke something that the rest of the team would not believe.

"Shit."

* * *

Lottie took her sunglasses off as the car pulled into the Barton property. She smiled at the familiar land. The last time she had been here was a few days before she went to South Africa. After what had happened in New York and the healing process in the hospital, she needed to get out of New York to get her thoughts together. So, Clint took her here, explaining how he wanted to keep his family a secret. Coming to the agent's home had helped her cope with what had happened and she formed a bond with Clint's family. Lottie looked over at Pietro, who was scanning the land as he drove further. The two of them were flown to a town 10 miles away from the property and given a car to drive the rest of the way.

"Is it weird?" Lottie asked him. Pietro looked over at Lottie, confused in her question, before looking back at the road. "Going from a busy place like New York to the new base to here." She explained.

"Oh," Pietro shifted in his seat slightly, turning the wheel as the road curved. "I don't know. I didn't really like New York, too many people." He told her. "The base was...well we were only there for what, a month? This place seems more...peaceful. It's nice."

"Yeah, lets you really see how beautiful the world is." Lottie commented before sitting up straighter in her seat as the house came into view. She had called Clint when they landed, telling him that she was visiting. She decided to keep out who was coming with her and why she was coming in the first place, not wanting to worry him. Lottie could see two small figures running around the yard. "That's Cooper and Lila," Lottie informed Pietro with a smile. "And then little Nathaniel was born like...a few weeks ago, I think."

Pietro nodded, becoming more and more nervous as the car came closer to the house. He felt like he was intruding on something. This family was practically Lottie's and he felt like his presence would send mixed signals to what was happening between the two of them. Pietro didn't even know what was going on between the two of them. He felt nervous around Lottie half the time, unsure if what he says to her makes sense. He knew that Lottie had felt weird around him at first, but he noticed the more they were together, the more she opened up.

"I didn't tell Clint you were coming." Lottie informed him as the car came to a stop. Pietro whipped his head over to Lottie.

"Why not?" His voice showed that he was nervous. Barton didn't even know that he was going to be at his house. Pietro groaned and hit his head softly against the car seat. "Lottie, Barton doesn't exactly like me."

"I just...I thought it would be better for him to know it was just me at first." She looked over at Pietro, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Speedy, I'll make sure the big bad Barton doesn't chew you up." She laughed, her tone sounding as if she was talking to a child. Pietro glared at her and swatted her hand away.

"If I remember correctly, you are usually the one who needs saving, Lot." Pietro said, looking at her. He noticed redness raise up to her cheeks and couldn't help to smirk at the reaction he got. She looked away quickly and opened the car door. Pietro could hear the screams of excitement from the two kids, Cooper and Lila, as Lottie stepped out of the car. He looked at the house in front of him, seeing the front door open as Clint and Laura walked out to greet their guest. Pietro put on his brave face and opened the car door, stepping out of the vehicle, suddenly feeling very unsafe.

Lottie looked over at Pietro, seeing the uncertainty written on his face. She felt bad for not telling him earlier that Clint didn't know he was coming. A warning would have been helpful. Lottie suddenly felt two bodies wrap themselves on her legs and she looked down to see Lila and Cooper hugging her legs, giggling. Lottie smiled at the two children as they seemed suctioned to her legs.

"Lottery," Lila screamed, never having been able to pronounce Lottie's name properly, "I lost my front teeth!" The girl smiled up at Lottie, showing that she in fact had no front teeth.

"Dad got me a new truck!" Cooper said, slightly talking over his sister. Lottie laughed at the two, attempting to walk forward with the kids stuck to her legs. That proved more difficult than Lottie thought as she barely made it a few feet before almost tumbling down. When she first met them, the kids were smaller, so walking with them attached to her legs was easier.

"Lila, Cooper, let Lottie walk!" Laura said, getting the children off of the young woman's legs. Laura pulled Lottie into a tight hug when the two children unhooked themselves from Lottie. "It's good to see you." She whispered as Lottie hugged her back, just as tight.

"Where's the baby?" Lottie asked as they pulled away from each other.

"Taking a nap." Laura told her. Laura had noticed Pietro staying close to the car, trying not to be seen. "A boyfriend of yours?" She joked causing Lottie to blush a deep shade of red that matched her hair.

"Just a friend." Lottie looked over at Pietro, her face slowly turning back to the normal shade. She waved him to come over, seeing that Clint was busy trying to get the two kids back inside. Pietro slowly walked over to Lottie and the other woman. "Laura, this is Pietro." Lottie introduced. Laura's face lit up, recognizing the name of the man that saved her husband. Laura hugged Pietro, not as tight or for as long as Lottie's, noticing his uneasiness.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for saving Clint." She told him.

"Thank you for letting us stay here." Pietro responded, unsure of what to say.

"I thought you were coming alone, Lottie." A new voice entered the conversation. Clint, once getting the kids inside, noticed his wife hugging someone other than Lottie. He was now walking towards the three and could see that the third body was Pietro Maximoff's.

"Yeah, about that," Lottie started. She felt Pietro's body tense up beside her and she gently grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "He is my body guard."

"Body guard?" Clint stopped next to Laura, looking down at Lottie's hand going into Pietro's. He quickly looked back up at Pietro and then Lottie. "Why do you need a body guard?"

"Cause she get's in trouble all the time." Laura said, saving Lottie and Pietro from an explanation. "Plus, I doubt her sister would let Lottie go anywhere without one."

"Right!" Lottie added, smiling. She could feel Pietro become slightly less tense. "Well, we are gonna bring our bags inside now." Lottie said, letting go of Pietro's hand.

"Laura actually needs help with dinner," Clint said, "I'll help him bring in the bags." His voice was final and Lottie didn't bother arguing. Clint really was like a father to her, so she listened to him for the most part.

"Okay, um," She turned to Pietro, who looked at her with an anxious look, "I'll see you inside." She followed Laura back up inside the house, turning to give Pietro a silent sorry.

"Why did you really come with her?" Clint asked, passing Pietro and walking to the trunk of the car. Lottie had said she didn't know how long she would be there, possibly just for a few days. Clint opened the trunk, taking one of the duffle bags out and putting it over his shoulder.

"Stuff for S.H.I.E.L.D." Pietro answered, grabbing the other bag. His body was still tense and his voice showed it. Pietro saw Clint shake his head.

"She should have never gotten involved with S.H.I.E.L.D,"

"She's helped out a lot. And it's better than her finding trouble on her own." Pietro told him, standing up for Lottie. Clint shut the trunk door and leaned against it.

"Why you?" Pietro looked at him, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Lottie trusts me. Plus, she asked me to and I couldn't say no to her."

"Why couldn't you say no to her?" Clint questioned. However, Pietro did not answer his question. Clint stood up from the car and stepped towards Pietro. "Listen, if you like her, you like her. No one's trying to stop you." Pietro looked at Clint, scowling slightly. "But, Lottie isn't like Nat. She won't be able to keep it to herself if you hurt her."

"I'm not going to hurt her." Pietro snapped.

"Not saying you will, just understand that if you do, you aren't going to have just me protecting her." Clint walked past Pietro, going closer to the house. Pietro watched as the man walked up the porch steps before quickly following him, using his speed to catch up and get to the door before Clint. "And, don't do that around the kids...they'll never let you stop." Clint warned lightheartedly, a change from his attitude seconds ago. The two walked into the house silent, hearing the laughter of the two women come from the kitchen. Clint put one of the bags on the floor by the stairs, Pietro following in suit.

"You already got a glass of wine in her," Clint commented, smiling at his wife, who was stirring a pot over the stove. Lottie was sitting on the counter, a glass of wine in her hands. She looked up at Pietro, a smile on her face. Pietro could feel a tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach when she looked at him. He gave her a small reassuring smile to her.

"Laura was just telling me that you are now going to fix up the barn." Lottie said, getting off the counter.

"It'll fall to pieces if I don't."

"Yeah, okay." Lottie rolled her eyes with a smile. She made her way over to Pietro. "Come on, Laura said I can get the baby." She told him softly. She grabbed his hand and lead him upstairs to the baby's room. Pietro watched as Lottie quietly walked to the crib, her face lighting up when she saw the baby. She looked over at Pietro, silently telling him to come over. Hesitantly, Pietro walked to the crib and looked at the baby. It was starting to wake up, it's tiny feet kicking slightly. Pietro looked from the baby back to Lottie, who was quietly cooing at the baby, getting ready to pick him up. Soon enough, once the baby woke up more, Lottie gently scooped the baby up, holding him in her arms.

"Little Nathaniel." She reminded Pietro. "I'm terrible with babies," She admitted.

"You don't seem that bad." Pietro told her. However, the baby seemed to disagree and began fussing in Lottie's arms.

"You take him," Lottie didn't give Pietro a chance to answer, quickly putting the baby into his arms.

"Lottie..." He warned, uncomfortable with holding the baby. Nathaniel, though, had stopped fussing once he was placed in Pietro's arms.

"See, he likes you. Better than me and I'm his godmother." Lottie huffed. "Well, I guess it makes sense, he was named after you." Lottie shrugged, turning around to get one of the bottles Laura gave her.

"What do you mean 'named after me?'" Pietro asked her, standing still in the spot as the baby looked up at him.

"Laura was grateful that you would risk your life to save Clint. So, she named in Nathaniel Pietro Barton." Lottie told him, giving him the bottle. He awkwardly held it, unsure of really what to do. Lottie rolled her eyes and helped him place the bottle in the correct position and then into baby Nathaniel's mouth. "See, you are already better at this than me."

Pietro didn't respond to her comment. He was watching Lottie look at the baby, a giant smile on her face. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Laura standing in the doorway.

"I'll take him." She said, gently grabbing the baby and the bottle from Pietro. "I got the map all set up for you downstairs in your room, Lot." Lottie nodded and headed down the hall. As Pietro started to leave the room, Laura grabbed his arm softly with her free hand. "She's really happy that you are here with her. Don't let Clint bully you or anything, he just cares about her. Just...just make sure she doesn't get too involved, I don't want her to get hurt again."

"I know." Pietro said, nodding a bit. "I'm not going to let anything happen to her." He reassured, earning a smile from Laura. He walked out of the room and in the direction Lottie had walked, seeing her back face him as she stared at the map placed on the bed. He walked in, noticing both of their bags in the room.

"The location that came up isn't too far from here...like a mile or 2 in the woods. I'll be easy to get in the general area." She spoke, seeing Pietro's body in the corner of her eye. Lottie looked up at him, seeing that his eyes were going from their two bags to the one bed in the center of the room. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I can sleep in Lila's room. I'm sure she wouldn't mind a roommate for the night."

Pietro looked up at Lottie, "No...it's fine. Just, wasn't expecting it." He walked to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. He looked at the map, seeing that Lottie had circled the area where the computer located the gamma radiation. He felt the bed shift slightly and looked over, seeing Lottie sit next to him.

"I wanted to thank you for coming."

"We did have a deal, remember?" He smirked. "Keep up your end of the bargain."

"Yeah yeah," Lottie rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her lips. "Would you ever want kids, Pietro?" She asked him. Lottie hardly every said his name, usually calling him "Speedy" or used a pun about being fast. Pietro liked how his name rolled off her tongue, her American accent causing it to sound different than what he was used to hearing back in Sokovia.

"No," He responded, truthfully. "Wanda was the one that always wanted a family,not me."

"Yeah, I don't think I'd like something the size of a melon squeezing through a tiny hole." Lottie said, causing Pietro to chuckle. "I'd have a few dogs or cats, but no kids."

"Prefer animals to people? Thanks Lottie," Pietro sarcastically said. Lottie swatted her hand at him, which Pietro easily caught. Lottie looked up at Pietro, his blue eyes staring back at hers. She felt self-conscious, like anything she would say or do next would be wrong. However, Lottie also felt peaceful. The conflicting emotions stirred inside of her, making her brow furrow. Pietro's eyes averted hers, moving to the small part of the bottom of her face where he could see a small line of her scar. He felt angry, angry that he hadn't known her earlier and could have done something to help her.

"Don't look at the scar," He heard Lottie whisper. He looked back in her eyes, she looked so vulnerable. "It's ugly and I hate it." She admitted, her voice was still soft.

"It's not ugly, Lottie." Pietro was surprised he was even able to get a word out. His voice wasn't wavering like Lottie's, but it was still soft. "Nothing's ugly about you." Pietro saw the corner of Lottie's mouth twitch slightly into a small smile. Pierto let go of the hand he was holding and gently pushed a piece of Lottie's hair behind her ear. He could see the blush creep up on her face and couldn't help but smile. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the two tore their eyes away from each other to look at who interupted them.

"Dinner's ready." Lila said, swinging her arms. She had a bright smile on her face and ran into the room, grabbing Lottie by the hands and pulling her up. "Come on, sit next to me!" Lottie looked back at Pietro as she was being taken away, seeing his facial expression go from annoyed to a smile.

"Come on Speedy, wouldn't want to keep the family waiting." Lottie joked.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any recognizable characters or ideas, they all belong to Marvel and Stan Lee.**

 **AN: Sorry for the late update, I've been busy with family and everything. This chapter is much shorter than my usual ones, but the next one is going to be longer, so don't worry! I just wanted to put some small fluff between Pietro and Lottie.**

Lottie and Pietro stood at the edge of the bed, not saying anything to one another. Dinner had surprisingly been easier, other than Lila asking if the two were together like "mommy and daddy." Lottie could practically see Clint's fork bend in half in his hand. She didn't understand what Clint had against Pietro. Luckily, Laura was able to answer the question, saving the awkwardness from the two of them. And now here they were, shifting from side to side, wondering how they were going to do this.

"So, um..." Pietro started, scratching the back of his neck. "Are you sure you don't want me to sleep on the floor?" He had asked her the same thing when they were clearing the dinner table and Lottie had reassured him it was fine. But, as he stood next to her, he could tell that she was nervous.

"Yes, I am sure! Man up, Pietro. It is just one night." Lottie said, trying to hide her nervousness. It wasn't as if she hadn't shared a bed with a guy before. She had, and she usually left before they woke up, or vice versa. Lottie had never shared a bed with a guy she wasn't going to sleep with. "So...uh... we'll just sleep back to back." Lottie finished, walking to her bag to get her pajamas.

"Ona budet smerti menya." Pietro mumbled to himself, beginning to walk out of the room in order to give her the privacy to get changed. He had already gotten into more comfortable clothing: sweatpants and a shirt. He found that though the days were hot, the temperature significantly dropped once the sun went down.

"What does that mean?" Lottie asked, with a smile on her face. Pietro looked back at her, confused at what she was talking about. "You and Wanda occasionally speak in a different language. I usually just nod and smile, but I wanna learn it."

Pietro paused for a moment; he hadn't even realized that he and Wanda would start talking in Russian. It was like a switch in their minds. The two of them only started speaking mainly in English once HYDRA came into the picture.

"Oh, um..." Pietro awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He has never had to translate what he said to any one before. "I said you are going to be the death of me." He could feel heat rise to his face and hoped that too much color wasn't rising with it.

"The death of you," Lottie giggled, causing Pietro to slightly relax. "Seems a bit dramatic. Now shoo." She said, waving her hand at him to leave. Pietro smiled smally and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He had to stop short, however, because Cooper stood only a few feet away from him. He had to be no older than 7 and he had an Iron Man action figure in his hand. He was staring up at Pietro with wide eyes.

"You're a hero, right?" The little boy said, his neck craning up in order to see him. Pietro shifted where he was standing, a little unsure of what to do.

"I hope I am." He responded. "Do you have action figures for all the heroes?" The little boy's face lit up and he nodded his head.

"Maybe one day I'll have one of you!" He excited said. Pietro smiled at Cooper, his excitement contagious. The bedroom door opened, and Lottie walked out, her hair messily tied up. She was cleaning the lens of her glasses with the oversized pajama shirt.

"Coop, you are supposed to be asleep. It's almost midnight." She told the little boy, who gave her a sly smile.

"He's not asleep!" Cooper pointed at Pietro.

"Well, he is also a lot older than you."

"But he is a superhero! Superheroes need lots of sleep in order to get the bad guy!" Lottie blinked and looked at Pietro, who was smiling at the comment Cooper made.

"You are absolutely right, Coop. Let's make a deal," Lottie bent down and Cooper quickly walked over to her, eager to hear the deal. "I'll make sure Mr. Superhero gets lots of sleep as long as you go in your room now and go to bed." Before Lottie could say anything else, Cooper ran back to his room, shutting the light off. Lottie stood back up, hearing the soft voice of Cooper telling her goodnight.

"Come on, hero boy." Lottie gently said to Pietro, walking back into the room. "Gotta keep my end of the bargain." Pietro followed her into the room, shutting the door. He turned away from the door to see Lottie with one of her hands on her hip, the other pointing to the bed. Her face looked serious, but Pietro could see the smile and brightness in her eyes. He rolled his eyes at her and walked towards the bed.

"You know, I technically don't have to listen to you. I am older than you."

"By, like, what...2 years?" Lottie scoffed, pushing the covers back and getting into the bed. "Now get in." Pietro stared at her for a moment. She wasn't looking at him, rather a small book that was on the night table to her side. Pietro watched as she flipped through the pages, skimming some pages will missing others. He noticed how when she stopped at a certain page to read it, her face seemed to calm down. At some moments, her hand not holding the book would subconsciously reach up and rub the scar on her neck. Pietro had seen her do this many times; rub the scar or try to hid it. It wasn't as bad of a wound as Lottie thought. It was a thin line, not jagged at all. Lottie sometimes would complain that it was probably as red as her sister's hair, but Pietro always disagreed. It only became slightly irritated and reddened when she bothered it.

Pietro looked away from her face and got into the bed, over the covers. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable in the situation they were in, so he opted to sleep over the covers. He felt Lottie shift and looked over to see her putting the book back where she found it.

"What? You aren't interested in it?" Pietro teased.

"It's about building things, and I can't build for shit." She smiled, causing Pietro's heart to beat faster. "So, how long will you teach me Russian before you get sick of me?"

"I would never get sick of you." He said almost too quickly. Pietro sucked in air, not daring to make another noise as he watched Lottie figure out what to say in response.

"Yeah, I'm far too awesome to get sick of." This wasn't what she wanted to say, but the thoughts in Lottie's head were going to fast for her to get out what she meant. She wanted to say she felt the same way about him. She also wanted to do many _things_ with Pietro, but they were friends and she didn't want to risk any awkwardness. That, and she also did not want Clint or one of the kids walking in the room unannounced. So, Lottie stuck with her usual response to things. Luckily, Pietro laughed at what she said, causing Lottie so relax a bit.

"We'll start the lessons once we are done with this." Pietro told her. He felt her sit up more and saw excitement go across her features.

"Really?" Pietro smiled at her, noting how she looked like Cooper did when she sent him off to bed. Exhilarated. Pietro remembered what Cooper had said to him. How he was a hero. Pietro's smile fell, and he looked at Lottie, who's excitement and thrill seemed to dissipate when she noticed his facial expression. "What?"

"The little boy said I was a superhero. But...the things that I did with Ultron, the things that I had planned to do with HYDRA. I'm not one of the good guys."

"You thought that Ultron was something else. You and Wanda believed that you were doing good. And, the things with HYDRA, you didn't know any better. You thought that they would help you avenge your parent's death-"

"Those still aren't good things, Lottie. I was-I am not a hero." He said, cutting her off. Neither said anything else, the soft sound of the night outside the house was only heard.

"You may not believe you are a hero, but you saved a lot of lives, Piet. You are their hero." Lottie finally spoke up, her voice gentle. Pietro watched as she turned to her side, shutting off the lamp on the night table. The room was enveloped in darkness, but Pietro could feel Lottie laying down besides him. He tensed when he felt her arm wrap around his midsection.

"I could be your hero." He whispered, hearing her breathing slow down. Pietro's body loosened and he gently wrapped his arm around her, keeping her close to him.

"You already are." She whispered back to him.


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: Marvel owns everything, per usual.**

 **AN: Sorry for the late update, I have no excuse except for my laziness. Enjoy.**

"You sure you'll be okay?" Clint asked as he walked down the porch steps. His mind had been racing the whole night with uncertainty. He knew Lottie was smart, practically a genius, but that was when she was on a computer or dealing with mathematical equations. He had watched the young woman easily hack into countless systems and figure out algorithms within minutes. However, Lottie was not as smart as she put off when she wasn't behind a screen or dealing with numbers. She was quite naive and could be taken advantage of easily. While she went to her training back at the Avengers base and got through it, Clint knew her heart wasn't in it. She could remember all the moves and attack positions, but when it came to using them in the field, he knew she would freeze up. The archer turned around, seeing the red head finish tying her hair into a braid. He could see her mouth moving, but no sound came out. She was repeating the latitude and longitude lines. "Lottie!" Clint loudly said, putting her thoughts to a halt.

"I'll be fine." She replied after taking a few seconds to figure out what he had said to her before. "Besides, I'll have Speedy with me." Lottie's thumb pointed behind her, where Clint's children had Pietro Maximoff as a prisoner. They were currently questioning him about what superheroes did and having him tell stories about battles. Lottie could hear their little voices, excited as they shot question after question. She had to admit, Pietro was doing a good job.

"Speedy? Lot…" Clint paused, noticing Lottie's eyes harden as she heard the doubt in his voice.

"Look, I get it. You don't really like him," Her voice was firm. She sounded more like Pepper than herself. "But, I believe in him and I trust him. The least you could do is trust my judgment."

"I do trust your judgment. I wouldn't have told you about my family if I didn't!" Clint argued. "It's just…the kid was dead about a month and a half ago and you haven't been training that long."

"Clint," Lottie started, her voice softer. Clint watched as she walked closer to him, stepping off the stairs and in front of him. Her face was free of any makeup, making her look much younger than 23. A few strands of hair that didn't make it into her side braid fell limply to the side of her face. Clint felt so much taller than her, but he was only a couple inches taller than her. "It's not like this is a real mission. We are just seeing what's out there."

"Why are you doing this, Lot?" He whispered to her. He watched as the woman in front of him looked down to her hands and then to the side of them, staring off into the empty greenery.

"I just," She sighed, trying to find the correct words, "I just want to do something important. I-I'm surrounded by people that do amazing things—Tony, Nat, Pepper…you. And I'm utterly normal and human."

"You help the team all the time."

"With what? Finding the location of something? Breaking into a system?" She looked back at him, her green eyes clouded. "Come on, Clint…Tony could do that too. You or Nat could do it, albeit slower…but what I do can be done by someone else." Lottie gave Clint a sad smile. Clint was about to make a remark when he heard footsteps coming out of the house.

"Come on, Lottie." Pietro's voice caused Lottie to look away from the father figure in front of her. Clint could see her face soften when she looked at Pietro.

"What, couldn't take all the questioning?" She joked, losing any type of sadness Clint had just seen. "Better get used to it, Speedy." She walked to the car, laughing as Pietro glared a hole in her back for using the nickname. He began to follow her, when Clint's hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him.

"What?" Pietro snapped.

"Keep an eye on her," Pietro rolled his eyes at the older man's command. As if it was not obvious. "I mean it, Maximoff. Stay on the path until you get to a location where the walking distance isn't too much." Clint removed his hand and began to walk back to the house. Before he walked into his home, he looked over his shoulder, adding one last thing before the pair went off. "If she comes back injured in any way, I'm putting an arrow through that pretty little head of yours." He threatened, slamming the screen door behind him.

Pietro watched Clint's form disappear, a hard look in his eyes. He couldn't stand how the archer treated him like he was a child. And he hated how he acted as if Lottie was a fragile doll. While she was absolutely mundane, she could handle herself and easily look at dangerous situations with pleasure. Pietro turned around and walked to the driver's seat of the car.

"You remember where we are going, right?" He asked her, turned the vehicle on.

"No, we are just going to drive through the woods until we get lost." She replied, sarcastically. Pietro looked at her, seeing a huge grin on her face. He felt his lips twitch into a smile, before shaking his head and driving away from the Barton house and towards what they were looking for.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Lottie complained, her mind jumbled with images of the different trees they passed.

"We've only been driving for 10 minutes." Pietro mumbled. He could see in the corner of his eye Lottie shifting in her seat to look at the small device in her hand. The small GPS had guided them 18 miles east of the Barton house, the computer voice slowly but surely irritating Pietro. He hated driving, especially when the scenery never changed. He wanted to go out and run; it would be faster than driving. He could feel his legs cramping from the inactivity, as they always did. The plane ride to New York had been hell for him, but the nervousness of being around Lottie made this small car ride worse. Before, when they were alone together, he could easily push down the bubbling feeling in his gut, but after their small talk the night before, he could tell it was going to be harder.

"Well thank god we are almost at the location. I feel like if I am in this car any longer, I am going to die." She dramatically stated. She looked over at Pietro, "At least I'll have something pretty to look as I die."

"I guess the trees and this part of where we are is pretty." Pietro commented, oblivious to Lottie's actual meaning.

"Yeah, totally, the trees. Cause I am a nature girl." She breathed, looking at the dirt road ahead of them. Suddenly, the car began to slow down. "Why are you slowing down?"

"I'm not." Pietro denied, "We are at half a tank, also." The car instantly stopped, the engine ceasing any noise. Lottie frowned and looked at the GPS, noticing the screen was black. She looked at the machine, seeing that it was still switched on.

"This is not good." She whispered to herself, hitting the device against her hand a few times.

"Maybe it is good. Maybe it means we are close." Pietro reassured, getting out of the car. Lottie groaned loudly, putting the device down on the dashboard and got out of the car as well. She looked at her watch, hoping they had enough time till sundown.

"Pietro..." With a breeze, the man she called was suddenly by her side. "My watch stopped working." The blond grabbed her wrist, inspecting the watch. He could hear he faint ticking of the clockwork fade out and watched as the hands stilled.

"We'll look around until the sun starts to go down," He began, "And then we'll begin walking back on the path." He put both hands on Lottie's shoulder's, looking down at her. "We are going to be fine, yes?" He watched as she hesitantly nodded. Her fearful expression changed into one of determination.

"Let's find this motherfucker." She said, walking towards the trees.

* * *

"She's on a mission?" Tony asked again, not believing the first time Steve told him what the younger Potts was doing. Tony was currently sitting outside his Malibu property, a red alcoholic beverage in one hand, and the phone in the other. He watched as Pepper floated silently in the pool, her nose deep inside a book. This is what the couple had been doing since they left the Avenger's tower a few week ago: relaxing. It was something neither of the two had done in a long time, and Tony had to admit, he rather enjoyed the lazy lifestyle. "Well, Pep will be so excited to hear that." Tony sarcastically continued.

 _"Lottie doesn't want her to know."_ Steve's voice sighed on the other line.

"Lottie doesn't want a lot of things. Listen, Capsicle, I'm on a sort of vacation. You know, those things where you don't work? And as much as I am interested in the little spitfire's antics, I don't really want to hear it while I am sipping on my mojito."

" _Tony-_ " But before Steve could get another word in, Tony hung the phone up.

"Who was that?" Pepper asked, shutting her book. Tony got up from the seat he was sitting on and went to the edge of the pool, sitting down once again.

"Earth's oldest virgin giving us the low down on little Miss Lottie." Tony could see Pepper frown, still not over the fight the two had had. She had yet to contact her sister, but Pepper felt like it wasn't her fault. Lottie needed to learn to grow up and not act recklessly. "Turns out, your little sister managed to get Fury to let her go on a mission with Mr. Maximoff."

"Lottie on a mission without a more trained agent?" Pepper's voice rose slightly.

"It's near Barton so she'll call the Birdman if she is in trouble." Tony added, taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

"She's so stupid," Pepper mumbled.

"Wouldn't be your sister if she wasn't." Tony laughed, earning a playful splash from Pepper. He watched as Pepper got out of the pool, wrapping a white towel around herself. "Come on, Pep," Tony stood up, "You don't have to worry about her." He began to walk inside the house, ready to add more of his beverage to his emptying glass. He heard Pepper's soft footsteps follow him inside.

"I know I don't have to worry about her...but I do." Pepper noticed a faint shadow move in the corner of her eye, but ignored it. It could have been a bird or just her imagination. She had no reason to think it was anything else.

"I wouldn't be worrying about her, if I were you." A cold voice said. Both Tony and Pepper turned to see the body of the third speaker emerge into the room. Expect it wasn't a body of a person, rather a giant form of the machine Tony thought his team had defeated. The robot resembled Ultron, but at a slightly bigger scale, and was equipped with more armor.

"Pepper," Tony began whispering, putting the two silver bracelets onto his wrists, activating the Iron Man suit to begin to form around him.

"I would be more concerned about yourself, Miss Potts."

"Run!" Tony ordered, the Iron Man suit fully engulfing his body just as a blast of energy shot at him from the intruder.

Pepper screamed as Tony was shot backwards at the impact, going through one of the walls. Pepper began to run out of the house through the doors she had just walked in through, hoping to go around the property and to the front, where she could access a car to get away. As she left the house, she could see the Iron Man suit get up and attack what she assumed to be Ultron. She saw the phone Tony had been using and grabbed it before she made her way to the side of the house. She dialed the number that had been used to call the Malibu home, hearing it ring.

"Come on, pick up...pick up!" She cried.

" _What do you want Tony?"_ The Captain's voice sounded irritated. " _I thought you were on vacation?"_

"He's back!" Pepper yelled into the phone. She had made it to the front of the house and turned to see blurs of Iron Man fighting off Ultron. It was clear the robot had the upper hand as he threw Iron Man into the back of the house and into the pool Pepper was just relaxing in

"Ultron is here!" She screamed as the villain made his way towards her. She began to run again, down the driveway.

" _What? Pepper get aw-"_

The phone dropped out of Pepper's hand as she was lurched forward from an attack. She felt pain shoot up her back from where she was hit. She fell into the asphalt, feeling her cheek scrape against the ground. She rolled onto her back, more pain forming as she put pressure onto it. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears mix with the metal sound of Ultron bending beside her.

"You can thank the Avenger's for this," He sneered before standing up. Pepper could hear Tony call her name as Ultron blasted off into the sky.

"Pepper!" His voice got closer, but so did the darkness. Every blink, Pepper's vision got blurrier and blurrier. She didn't even know the extent of her wounds, but she could feel her hair begin to get wet with blood.

"Pepper, stay with me." She felt the metal of the Iron Man suit lift her head gently, the other arm going under her legs, lifting her up. She could feel the wind through her blood soaked hair as Tony flew into the sky. Pepper was numb, the blurriness getting to her. The last thing Pepper could see before the darkness consumed her was the Iron Man mask and the look on her little sister's face the last time she saw her.

* * *

Lottie lifted up a rock, looking under it for any sign of what they were searching for. She wasn't even sure what they were looking for anymore. They hadn't even been sure that whatever stone they were in the woods for looked like the one on Vision. She could have passed it a thousand times and not even know about it.

"I give up." She declared, sitting on a log with an irritated huff. "Are you happy world, I give up!" She yelled out into the air, her arms lifting up into a dramatic movement. Lottie had taken one side of the woods, while Pietro had taken the other. He had checked on her a few times, using his super speed to find her and get back to searching quickly. He had been the only solace in their hunt, Lottie's mood immediately brightening whenever he came. But, for now, she was alone. Lottie glared at her watch, wishing that it was working. She sighed, using her index finger to lightly tap the glass, hoping that her tapping would somehow cause the watch to work again. Lottie felt a tingle in her back, as if a spider was crawling up her shirt. She quickly stood up, reaching for her back to rid her body of whatever was causing the feeling. However, Lottie lost her footing and tumbled backwards, over the log that she was sitting on and down a small hill. She felt twigs scrape at her face and whatever part of her body that wasn't covered by clothing. She rolled down the hill, landing face first into a small stream.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She screamed. She placed her hands on either side of her, slowly getting up. Lottie looked into the stream, seeing a frog jump away from her. "That's right, run away." She grumbled, not wanting to deal with nature right now. The front of her shirt was soaked, as well as the braid. As she began to wipe the mud and dirt off of her face, Lottie noticed something shining in the water. Raising her eyebrow, Lottie walked to where the shine was coming from, ignoring the wet feeling in her boots as she stepped into the water. Reaching down, Lottie picked up the object. As soon as it was out of the water, the shine seemed to stop. It looked like a regular stone, except for the yellow/orange coloring. Lottie felt a jolt of energy come from the spot the stone laid in her hand. The energy felt like the tingling she felt before she fell, but far more powerful. Suddenly, she felt a burning sensation and went to drop the stone. However, the stone stayed put in the palm of her hand and seemed to melt away.

"What the fuck?" Lottie whispered to herself. It wasn't melting away, it was sinking into her skin, until the stone was completely emerged into her hand. She could see the outline and color of the stone, but couldn't grab at it. All she was met with was her flesh. Lottie could feel her breathing speed up and she looked around the woods.

"P-Pietro?" She yelled, hoping he would hear her. After a few seconds of nothing, Lottie screamed his name again, this time much louder.

"Lottie?" she heard, after waiting another couple of seconds. "Lottie where are you?"

"I'm down here!" She yelled, involuntarily waving her arms. She saw Pietro's form and almost cried in happiness.

"What happened to you?"

"I fell! But, that's not important." She said as Pietro ran down to her. All she saw was a blur and felt him pick her up, running back up the hill and to the vehicle. "Oh wow, so that's what that feels like." She said to herself.

"You are bleeding," Pietro said, touching her forehead gently. Lottie put her finger's to her head, feeling the stickiness of blood. She could see the yellow glow of the stone inside her palm as she felt the wound. She stopped and showed Pietro her hand. "What is that?"

"I think I found the stone!" She blurted out. "And it went into my hand!" Pietro looked at Lottie, his eyes widening. Suddenly GPS inside the car began beeping, the annoying voice of the woman telling the two of them that they reached their destination.

"Get in the car," Pietro ordered as he went to the front seat. Lottie nodded and got inside, noticing that her watch was now ticking away. She could hear Pietro whisper something in Russian as he twisted the keys in the car. When the vehicle turned on, he sighed in relief.

"I guess the stone blocked technology." Lottie commented as Pietro quickly turned the car around and sped his way down the dirt path, closer to the Barton house.

"Yeah and now that thing is inside of you." Pietro replied. "How did that thing get inside of your hand?" He asked, gaining speed. Lottie looked at him and then at her palm.

"I picked it up and it just went into my hand." Lottie ran her finger along the oval shape of the stone. "But, we can get it out...right?" Lottie looked back at Pietro, and when he didn't answer her, she felt her fear kick back in. "Right?"

"We'll find a way, Lottie." Pietro lied to her. He didn't know if they could get the stone out of her, but he didn't want to worry her even more. Pietro could see the lights of the Barton house. "We are almost there." He commented. The two stayed silent for the rest of the way, only the sound of the engine evading through the quiet of the car. Pietro parked the car and ran to Lottie's side, opening the door before she get free of the seat belt. The two quickly went inside.

"So, we ran into-" Lottie began, but her words stopped as she saw Steve and Natasha standing in the living room of the house. "What are you guys doing here?" Lottie asked.

"Lottie...something happened with Pepper."


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I think it is pretty clear that I do not own anything dealing with the Marvel Universe.**

 **AN: I would be ever so grateful if you could review! It helps me with the direction of where the story is going and if I should continue certain things or not. Also, I was thinking of making a separate story, I guess, that would have a bunch of short stories dealing with Lottie and the Avengers when they are not dealing with evil robots. I am also planning another story with a different OC as well as a prequel to this story where it deals with the events of the first Avenger's movie. Enjoy!**

 _"Lottie...something happened with Pepper."_

Steve's words played over and over in Lottie's head as she rushed into the hospital. She hadn't asked where Tony had taken Pepper, all Lottie cared about was getting there. The two Avenger's that came to the Barton house had taken the Quinjet, so the ride to the location was cut in half due to the speed and swiftness of the jet. Lottie had been told as she tried to remain calm that the rest of the team was going to meet them at the hospital. That was the only thing that anyone spoke to her to entire ride; not because the people with her didn't want to talk to her, but because Lottie locked herself away in the Quinjet bathroom the entire ride. And now here she was, pushing past people, trying to find Pepper.

"Where is she?" Lottie practically yelled at a nurse that was attempting to slow her down.

"Miss, I'm going to need you to calm down." Lottie froze and looked at the woman, staring her down fiercely.

"Calm down?!" Lottie bitterly spat. "I will calm down when someone tells me where the hell my sister is!"

"Lot," a third voice interjected from behind the nurse. Lottie away from the poor nurse to look at Tony, who was still in the Iron Man suit. The mask was up, showing Tony's face. It was expressionless; totally void of any emotion. While his face was blank, his posture was droopy, as if he would just drop at any moment. Lottie had never seen Tony this way.

"Where is she?" Lottie asked again, going around the nurse. Her voice was softer than it was when she came in, but was still firm.

"She's still in surgery. I talked to the doctors…" Tony's voice trailed off.

"And?"

"They are doing the best they can, but they say that it doesn't look good."

Lottie felt like her hearing vanished and was replaced with a buzzing sound. She could feel the blood drain from her face as Tony finished his sentence. It was the same sentence the doctors told Pepper and herself before their mother passed away. All of those emotions that she had locked away when her mother died suddenly sprang up. Her legs felt like they had been turned into jelly and she struggled to keep composure.

"Oh," She felt her legs begin to crumble, but before she could crash to the ground, two bodies came to her sides to hold her up. Lottie looked over sluggishly to Steve and Clint, both holding onto one of her arms.

"Lottie, you need to take it easy, don't open up the stitches," Steve quietly told her. Natasha had taken care of her injuries from her fall: cleaning out the small cuts and stitching up the gash on her head. The younger red head opted to not tell her other friends about the incident with the stone, feeling that the team didn't need more bad news.

Lottie could feel the tightness of her forehead from the stretched skin and the wound seemed to pound in her head. She gently nodded to Steve, and allowed the two men to guide her to the waiting room, sitting down on the slightly comfortable chair the hospital had to offer. She could feel everyone looking at her and knew the whispers behind her back were her friends discussing what to do. She hadn't even realized that her hands were shaking until Clint's hands wrapped around her own, ceasing the tiny movement.

"Why didn't you stay with your family?" Lottie asked in almost a whisper.

"Because you needed me, kid." Clint gave her hands a gentle squeeze. Lottie let out a shaky breath, and gave the man next to her a small smile. She was grateful that he was here, believing that she would easily break down into a giant mess without him.

"What were you going to say when you came back?" Clint asked after a few moments of silence. He had remembered the girl bounding into the house, ready to spill everything that she had found, but she showed no hint of discussing what she wanted to say.

"Oh," Lottie started, taking her hands back. She used the one where she stone was embedded to scratch the back of her neck, hoping to hide the yellow object. "We didn't find anything." She lied. Clint could tell she wasn't telling the truth; it was easy for him to read her. But he chose to remain silent and not push her any further.

"Lottie," Tony's voice cut into the conversation, causing both Lottie and Clint to look his way. He had gotten out of the Iron Man suit, looking a tad worse for wear. The clothes he had on looked worn and his face was no longer expressionless. It hid something that Lottie could not figure out. Anguish? Guilt? Lottie pulled herself out of her thoughts and stood up.

"Can I see her?" She asked, feeling her throat constrict. Tony only nodded, fearing that if he spoke, it would only be apologies to the young woman about not being able to protect her sister better. Lottie gaze passed Tony's shoulder to Pietro and Wanda. Pietro wasn't looking at her, instead his back was to her, but Lottie knew he was whispering unknown things to his sister. Wanda, however, had her gaze set to Lottie, occasionally going from the girl's face to her hand which hid the secret. Lottie shoved both of her hands into her jacket pockets, hoping to evade her friend's stares. It didn't surprise her that Pietro would tell Wanda about what happened. In fact, she was happy that someone other than the two of them knew what happened in the forest.

"The doctor has to talk to you first." Tony told her, his stance defeated.

"I want you to come with me." Lottie said to him. She knew the rules of the hospital with only family of the patient being able to know certain information, but Tony was a part of her family. He had taken Lottie into his home, gave her a job, and made her sister happy. Lottie could see Tony begin to smile and nodded, leading her to outside Pepper's room, where the doctor was standing.

"Miss Potts," The doctor began, looking over at Tony when he noticed that the hero was not leaving. "Mr. Stark, I'm sorry, but I can only tell this to fam-"

"He is family." Lottie argued. "So, he gets to hear whatever I get to hear." The doctor looked at Lottie for moment, noticing her serious expression.

"Very well," The doctor said, nodding his head. "We did the best we could with the size and damage of the injury and we were able to stabilize her. However," the doctor paused slightly before continuing, "however, in order to do that, we had to put her into a medically induced coma."

"What? Why?" Lottie asked, trying to keep her voice level. Her hand subconsciously held onto Tony's arm for support.

"While the blast damaged her spinal cord, the fall from it was severe enough to cause a brain injury and swelling. The coma will make it easier for her brain to heal and for the swelling to go down."

"How long will she be in a coma?"

"It could take weeks or months. It depends on how fast she will heal. Your sister is in good hands, Miss Potts." The doctor told her. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have another patient to see. The nurses will help you." He told her, giving her a reassuring smile before walking away.

"You can go in." Lottie looked to see the nurse that had tried to calm her down when she first arrived standing behind where Tony was standing. She hadn't even realized that the nurse was there, but didn't make a comment about it. Instead, she opened the hospital room door, hesitating before stepping in. Laying on the bed was Pepper, but at the same time it wasn't. It was her body, but the liveliness was gone; replaced by tubes and wires. The color in her face was pale, and all that moved was her chest with each breath the limp body took.

"I can't do this." Lottie whispered after staring at her sister's body, not wanting the emotions she felt when her mother passed to resurface. She spent years pushing back the anger and sadness in order to be the 'happy go-lucky' person that everyone needed. But now she could feel those years of hard work go down the drain with just one look the hospital bed.

"I-I need to get out of here." She said, turning and quickly walking out of the room.

"Lottie!" Tony called after her, attempting to follow her. Lottie ignored his calls for her to come back. She knew that her legs were moving faster with every stride that she took, but everything felt numb to her. She saw the rest of the Avengers in the waiting room get up when they saw her moving quickly away from where she had just been, the nurse and Tony following in suit.

"Lottie, where are you going?" Tony called again, motioning for someone to stop her.

"I-I need to go. It's too much right now." She explained, her voice weak as she continued to walk away from everyone.

"Lottie, stop." Another voice said. She could feel her breathing increase and her heart beat quicken. Her head began to pound and her palm began to burn. She heard a voice in her head, repeating the same word over and over again.

 _Stop stop **STOP**_

With each reiteration, she felt her hand burn more, until the pain and pounding in her head suddenly ended. Lottie felt her breathing slow down and the voice disappear. In fact, all voices seemed to disappear. Lottie turned around slowly, to see everyone where they had been before, but seemed to be frozen in place.

"Guys?" Lottie said, unsure of what to do. Tony and the nurse were in mid-sprint after her, Tony's mouth open as if he was about to say something. Thor and Natasha also had their mouth open, ready to speak. Lottie looked over at Clint, who was in the middle of getting up from the seat. Wanda's face was frozen in worry and confusion, while Pietro's face was hard, his gaze set to where Lottie's hand would be.

"What have you done?" A voice said and Lottie looked over to see the only person who was still moving.

"I don't know what happened!" She explained, her voice high. Vision walked towards her, each step as elegant and smooth as the first. Lottie had almost forgotten that he had been there, but it wasn't surprising as he went everywhere that Wanda went.

"What is that?" He continued, grabbing Lottie's hand roughly. He made it so her palm was facing up, the yellow stone slightly glimmering under her stone. "Where did you get this?"

"I-I..." Lottie felt dumbfounded, not knowing how to explain what happened.

"Where did you get this?!" He repeated, this time with more intensity.

"I found it! In the woods! And then I picked it up and it just, it just went in my hand and I don't know what to do! What did I do?" Lottie could feel tears prick at the edge of her eyes. Vision sighed, seeing that Lottie actually did not know what caused everyone, expect himself to suddenly freeze.

"Lottie," He let go of her hand, gently placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "Lottie, calm down. It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I froze everyone!" She squeaked.

"Okay, what happened before everyone froze?" Vision asked, trying to coach her through her worry.

"Um," Lottie began, trying to remember what exactly happened. "I did not want to see Pepper like that and so I ran out and I...it started burning and then there was a voice that kept repeating stop. And then everything stopped."

"A voice?"

"Well, it was my voice, but I don't remember thinking what it was saying. It just kept saying stop and now...and now this." She sighed, looking over at everyone frozen in place. Even the clock was frozen. "Why aren't you like them?" She asked.

"The stones are connected. I believe since I hold one of the stones, I am able to be unaffected by the power that stone holds, and possibly vice versa for you."

"How do I fix this?" Lottie asked quietly.

"Calm your mind," Vision ordered. Lottie sighed and closed her eyes, attempting to push any thought out of her mind. Fear, regret, sadness, anger; everything just flooded out of her brain. Vision saw her body relax and continued speaking to her. "Now, the only thing I want you to think about is unfreezing everything."

"Might be a bit harder than you say." Lottie quipped.

"Lottie, focus."

"Right, right sorry." Lottie regained her composure. She began to picture everything moving.

 _Move._

Lottie felt her hand begin to burn, just as it did before. She continued to repeat the word in her head, over and over again until movement was all she thought of. The burning in her hand heightened with each thought until it felt like someone was putting her hand into a fire. And just as before, it suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes, feeling a headache begin to build in the back of her head.

"Lottie, don't leave." Tony's voice reached her ears and Lottie looked around, seeing everything move again. She looked at the clock and watched as the hand that showed seconds tick again. She looked back at Tony, watching him point to where Vision had been standing before and then to where he was currently standing.

"How did you? You know what, never mind, I don't really care." Tony walked to Lottie, looking down at her. "Lottie...please just come back. She needs to know that you are here for her."

Lottie swallowed hard, putting away the feelings that were ready to bubble over again. No matter how much she did not want to be in the room and see her sister in the state she was in, Lottie knew she could not just abandon her. She sighed and nodded, following Tony back through the hospital and to the room where Pepper was.

* * *

"And training sucks, they make me run like 10 miles and I hate running." Lottie continued to inform Pepper about everything she had been doing since the last time they saw each other. She sighed, leaning back in the seat she had been in since Tony had brought her back in the room. He had been silent the entire time, watching Lottie decide whether or not she should hold Pepper's hand and getting spooked at one of the machines making an odd noise. Running her hand through her hair, Lottie stood up, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"This is so stupid! I doubt she can ever hear me. I doubt she would even want to hear what I would have to say."

"Lot, you know that isn't true." Tony said. Lottie ignored him, however, silently wishing that she was alone with a bottle of wine, drowning out all feelings. Or alone with a certain Russian speedster, doing things that coworkers, let alone friends, should not do. Lottie blushed, ashamed that those thoughts even went into her mind. But at least the drinking and the distraction of Pietro would be a better way to control her feelings, rather than trying to hold them in the way she usually did.

"It is true. She would not want to hear the things that I don't even want to tell her. I don't even know why I am here." Lottie finished, beginning to walk to the door. Tony, though, stepped in front of her, blocking her from leaving.

"Listen," Tony began, his voice firm, he pointed his finger to Pepper's body, "that there is your big sister. Sure, you fought and maybe she broke your trust. But, she is your sister and what she needs right now is you not being an ass!" Lottie didn't dare look at Tony, knowing that if she did, she would break down into tears. She knew he was right, but for some reason she couldn't swallow her pride and anger. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Because I'm mad." She told him.

"Mad at what?" Tony pressed on, the volume of his voice increased slightly.

"At everyone!" Lottie yelled back, finally looking at Tony. She could feel the tears at the brim of her eyes, but willed them not to fall. "I'm mad at myself for getting this stupid stone in my hand, I'm mad at Pietro for making me feel weak and causing me to get feelings for him. I'm mad at Clint for caring too much." Lottie couldn't hold back the tears anymore, they spilled over her cheeks. They left a burning trail as they left. "And... and I'm mad at Pepper for leaving me." All the emotions and fears that Lottie hadn't even known she was holding in burst out. It was the one thing that she feared: showing her emotions and allowing them to get a hold of her. But, letting them out and admitting everything felt oddly comforting.

"Lottie," Tony's voice became soft as he pulled the woman into his arms, embracing her. He felt her arms wrap around his midsection and hold onto him for dear life. "Lottie, Pepper isn't leaving you, she's still here."

"They said that about our mom too. They said she would be okay and that she was in 'good hands' and then she died. I-I can't go through another death. I don't want to be alone, Tony."

"Kid, you said before that I was apart of your family. You and Pep, you are my family. And you got Barton. You know he thinks of you as a daughter. Lottie, you are never alone."

"What if she doesn't wake up?" Lottie asked, her voice sounding distant and small.

"She's a Potts. You guys are too stubborn to give up." Tony heard the faint sound of Lottie's laugh and knew that she was going to be alright. "Now, what is this thing about Pietro and a stone in your hand?"

* * *

"The stone has chosen Lottie to be it's host. We do not know the risks if we try to remove it from her." Vision explained, standing at the head of a long wooden table. The group had gone back to the S.H.I.E.L.D facility in upstate New York, where Nick Fury and a group of, what Lottie assumed to be, agents were waiting for them. The Avengers, Lottie, Fury, and the small group had been discussing the predicament of what had happened with the stone for the last half hour. Lottie slouched in one of the chairs, bored and annoyed with the on-going conversation. Bored because the same things were being repeated over and over again, and annoyed because the unfamiliar agents had not let her speak up for herself.

"But we also do not know the risks if if stays in her." One of the men replied to the android. He was a tall, burly man with graying hair. He seemed to be older than everyone in the room.

"Councilman Woods," Nick began, making the identity of the stranger known. Lottie looked around to the other people who came in with him, noticing that they all seemed to be spaced around the room, their eyes glancing everywhere. Bodyguards. "We do not even know which stone it is."

"It's the Time Stone." Lottie spoke up, her tone bored. "If you had allowed me to explain everything in the beginning, then maybe we would be done with this meeting." She felt two hard kicks under the table and looked up at see Steve and Natasha, both giving her a look of warning. This man was apart of the World Security Council and was to be respected. However, when the man seemed to ignore Lottie completely, she decided that he would not have her respect. Councilman Woods had been given his position after the events with the Winter Soldier and was known for being unapologetically harsh in everything that he did. He was more hands-on than the other councilmen, opting to attend meetings and show up at random times to the facility. Lottie had heard rumors, though, that he believed that an agent that was a woman could not do the same things an agent as a man could do. His sexist views were one of the other reasons why Lottie would have no respect for him.

"This young woman needs to be placed in lockdown. She is in possession of an alien artifact that we do not know how to control," Councilman Woods said, "Not to mention she has multiple accounts of breaching national security!" Lottie felt a blush creep up on her cheeks as the man brought up the fact that the only way Lottie knew about S.H.I.E.L.D was because she hacked into the database.

"You can't control the stone, sir." Lottie told him, her voice filled with acidity. She was about to continue, but she felt another kick come from the direction of Natasha and decided to keep her mouth shut. Councilman Woods finally seemed to realize that Lottie had spoken and gave her a hard, distasteful look.

"Then we must simply control you if you are the 'host' of the stone. With this Ultron out there still, having this stone in our possession will give us an advantage."

"No." Lottie looked over to Pietro, surprised that he had spoken up. He had said nothing to her on the plane ride back to the facility, not even glanced at her.

"Excuse me?" The old man questioned, although he spoke to Pietro with a little more decency causing Lottie to fume in her seat.

"I said no. She isn't going to be used as a weapon. She is not a soldier." The whole room was quiet, and the councilman seemed surprised that someone would speak up against him. The air was thick and no one would look at one another. Just as the quietness started to become unsettling to Lottie, the door of the room burst open with Bruce Banner running in, papers in his hands. The glasses on his face looked as if they were about to fall off and his attire had been like Tony's, unkept and worn.

"More files were...Am I interrupting something?" He asked, clearing his throat and pushing the glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Bruce felt everyone stare at him and he felt his throat constrict as he made brief eye contact with Natasha.

"Mr. Banner, we did send you the memo that there would be a meeting." Nick said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, uh...I was busy."

"Busy with what?" Fury asked.

"Another file was uploaded to Lottie's computer." Everyone straightened up in their seats at the mention of the new file. "It was hard to decipher, but I ended up getting the picture. It's a bit blurry, but it could still be helpful."

"Picture? It wasn't a person's file like Pepper's?" Lottie asked. Bruce opened up the beige folder and slid the picture onto the desk. The group leaned around the table to get a look at what he placed. It was a blurry picture of a woman smiling as she watched 2 children play in a room, cradling a small object. Clint stood up from his chair, recognizing who was in the photo immediately.

"Barton? Where are you going?" Nick Fury asked, watching the man walk towards the door.

"The bastards after my family." Clint replied without turning or stopping, his pace picking up. Lottie looked down at the picture again as everyone stared after Clint in shock. She picked it up, now clearly seeing Laura's image with a giant black "x" over her face.


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: It's clear that I do not own the Avengers.**

"Come on Lottie, one more time." Steve encouraged as he stood in front of his shorter friend. She was hunched over, breathing heavily. The two of them had been in a training room for the past 3 hours, finding out what different things she could do with the stone. Vision had been in the room at the start, reassuring Lottie that she could do certain things. The freezing and unfreezing of time had become much easier for Lottie to do. The pain in her palm felt more like she was getting a shot than someone dousing her skin in fire. The headache, however, was still pretty annoying, but she shoved the pounding aside so she could focus. After arguing with Steve about taking a break during the first hour, Lottie found out that she could also cause things to slow down or speed up. That was much more difficult than stopping or starting time. She could feel her body drain of energy each time; as if the stone would suck it up in order to work.

The exercise that Steve had created was throwing his shield at her in hopes that she would slow it down enough to where she could easily grab it out of thin air. The first go at the training had been less than successful, with Lottie jumping out of the way of the shield, where it embedded itself into the wall. However, after concentrating, she was able to slow the shield down in order for her to grab it out of the air without hurting herself. She had told Steve she didn't' want to try speeding up any object, mainly because she didn't want to hurt herself or others.

"Steve, I am tired," Lottie panted, shaking her head in attempts to get rid of the giant headache that had formed. This, though, was a bad idea and only caused her head to hurt even more. She stood up straight, hoping her heart would slow down to a normal heart rate. "My hand hurts like a bitch and I am out of energy."

Lottie watched as Steve nodded and held the shield in his hand. She could hear the soft noise the metal of the shield made when it moved. It was an odd sound, one that Lottie would get tired of if she heard it day after day. She wondered if Steve ever got annoyed with it.

"We'll try some new things tomorrow." He told her, walking out of the training room, with Lottie trudging behind him. "So, what's about this rumor dealing with you and Pietro?" Steve asked, a sly smile forming on his face. Lottie felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she began stammering, trying to think of a reply.

"We-we are just friends." She finally was able to get out as the two turned the corner, walking towards the Steve's room. Along with her own room and Wanda's, Lottie found herself in Steve's room at random times, talking about almost everything.

"Just friends, huh?" Steve chuckled.

"Yes, just friends." Lottie repeated. "Besides, he hasn't even spoken or looked at me since the meeting." She frowned; remembering the last time Pietro had acknowledged her existence. It had been almost a week since the team had the meeting with Fury and Councilman Woods.

"I still don't like that man." She added.

"Councilman Woods is only looking out for what, 2 billion people?"

"7 billion." Lottie corrected.

"My point is the man has a lot on his plate."

"He is still a sexist asshole." Lottie complained, walking to Steve's room when he opened the door. He had grown used to Lottie coming in and out of his room. He didn't mind her company; she was easy to talk to and she didn't mind listening to him rage about missions or Tony doing stupid things.

"He has a daughter that's around your age." Steve told her.

"Doesn't excuse his assholeness." Lottie plopped down onto Steve's bed. "A daughter, huh? She's probably a stuck up snob."

"She's actually very nice." Steve claimed. Lottie straightened up from where she was sitting and stared at Steve. He was putting things away and making sure things were in place.

"Steve, when have you met Councilman Woods' daughter?"

"That's really none of your business." Steve replied, his back to her. A mischievous smirk formed on Lottie's lips at his response.

"Steve… are you dating the councilman's daughter?"

"What? No." He finally turned around to look at Lottie, leaning against the furniture. "We talked during her father's inauguration banquet last year, that's it."

"Whatever you say, Capsicle." Lottie smirked, using Tony's nickname for him.

"Don't turn this conversation on me. We were talking about you and Pietro." Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"There is no me and Pietro." Lottie frowned.

"Do you like him?" Lottie looked down at her hands and nodded, admitting to Steve that she did have feelings for he older Maximoff twin.

"But it doesn't matter cause he doesn't like me."

"How can you be so sure?" Lottie looked up at Steve, scrunching up her eyebrows in confusion.

"I heard that you found more information on Bucky." Lottie said, evading the subject. Steve stared at his friend for a couple of minutes, wondering what was going on in that head of hers.

"Yeah…yeah I did." Steve answered, still suspicious of what Lottie could possibly be avoiding.

* * *

Wanda sat in on her bed, cross-legged, watching her brother rapidly click through different television channels on the floor. She was sure that the remote in his hand probably had a dent in it from his constant pressing, but she said nothing. He had gone past the same channel that was trying to sell a silly looking lamp at least 20 times now.

"Have you talked to her yet?" Wanda spoke up. Pietro went rigid and stopped going through the channels. Wanda was beginning to get worried for her brother. He hadn't spoken to Lottie in almost a week since the hospital, and it had taken a toll on him. He was restless, agitated all the time, and had Wanda tell him whenever Lottie was walking into a room he was in, that way he could easily get away.

"No." He finally responded in a low voice.

"I don't even understand why you aren't talking to her. She didn't do anything wrong." Wanda said, shifting her body so that she was laying on her stomach.

"She didn't do anything wrong. It's-It's me. I just realized that I had gotten too close." Pietro told her. His mind wandered to what Lottie had told him when they were at the Barton house. That he was her hero. After all the damage that he had done with Ultron and volunteering with HYDRA to get revenge, he knew he wasn't a hero, no matter how many times Lottie told him that he was.

"Too close?" Wanda asked, ripping Pietro from his thoughts.

"I let my feelings get the best of me."

"You know, you aren't the only one with feelings in this. Have you even thought of what Lottie is going through? You're ignoring her without giving her an explanation. It's not right, Pietro..." Wanda paused, watching her brother's face change from sadness to frustration. "And I think you know it's not right. You want her to think you don't care about her."

"Keeping her at a distance is for the best." Pietro told Wanda. He wanted to say more, make her understand where he was coming from, but he knew she wouldn't. He knew that she wouldn't understand his guilt for letting this happen to Lottie, how he should have been watching her every move as they looked for the stone. How he wasn't good enough for Lottie, who was such a pure burst of happiness that lit something inside of him. No, he could not be the person he wanted to be for her; not after everything that has happened to him.

"In order to protect her from whatever you think is endangering her, you have to break her heart." Wanda whispered.

"With Ultron back everyone that we care about is in danger. We went against him! Tell me you don't think he would want revenge on us choosing to help the Avengers!" Pietro sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Wanda widened her eyes slightly, not even taking into consideration the possibility of Ultron retaliating against Pietro and her for abandoning him.

"Ultron went after Pepper to hurt Tony, now he is targeting Barton's family...who says that Lottie isn't next on his list."

* * *

Bruce sat in Lottie's office, going through hundreds of different files that were stored on her computer. His eyes scanned each file, looking for any indication that someone tampered with it. He had to give Lottie credit; for someone that does things impromptu, she kept her computer organized. He remembered teaching her everything he knew about gamma rays when they first met and how, much like Tony, she would try to get him to turn into the Other guy. At first, it had been somewhat of a nuisance, but he found the more she tested his limits, the easier it was to calm down and get control of the Other guy.

Bruce eyes shifted from the screen to a picture collage next to the computer screen. He picked up the large frame it was in and took a closer look at the pictures. One from Lottie's 21st birthday celebration of Tony taking a selfie with Steve in the background, holding back Lottie's hair as she threw up in the toilet. Another one of Thor laughing as Lottie failed to pick up Mjölnir. Bruce's eyes moved across the different photos, taking in the different memories that Lottie had decided were just too good to keep to herself. His eyes stopped at one picture of Lottie, Clint, and Natasha. The former of the three was holding up her university diploma with a huge smile as Clint and Natasha smiled as proudly on either side of the girl. The team had told Lottie that they couldn't make her graduation, but somehow the two spies were able to show up at the last minute. It had been years ago, when Lottie was only 19. Tony had boasted how he had graduated with two master's degrees when he was her age, earning a well deserved punch in the arm from the young girl. Bruce's eyes went from Lottie's face to Natasha's. He had never seen the woman smile as big as she did in this photo.

"Reminiscing are we?" A female voice said, frightening Bruce to his feet. He held the collage close to his chest, afraid that if he let it go, it would just shatter, breaking all the memories that Lottie held dear.

"I, uh, I was working." Bruce finally told the red headed woman in front of him. Natasha looked just as she had when Bruce left, minus the cuts. She had an unreadable expression, but Bruce could tell her mind was reeling.

"Working?" Natasha's lip twitched into a slight smirk. "That doesn't exactly look like working." She nodded towards Bruce's figure hugging the pictures to his body. The scientist relaxed his body, though his heart was still beating rapidly in his chest. Bruce cleared his throat and put the collage back on the desk behind him.

"Can I help you?" Bruce asked.

"What made you come back?" Natasha wondered, her voice steady. Bruce blinked, and looked away from her face.

"I, uh, I was able to find the back door for Lottie's system and kept an eye on everything. I saw what she apparently couldn't see and came back to warn everyone."

"You got through Lottie's system?" Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow, I'm impressed."

"She may be the best at breaking into things, but she isn't the greatest at protecting her own stuff." Bruce admitted. "Anyway, I just wanted to help, but from a distance."

"But from a distance." Natasha repeated. Bruce swallowed hard looking up at her, although he was unable to look at her directly in the eye. "Well, I'll leave you to it." Natasha spoke once again after what seemed like minutes of silence. She began to turn away from the scientist and leave the room, but Bruce's voice saying her name stopped her.

"Natasha, wait." He watched her slowly turn on her heel back towards him. "Look, I-I'm sorry for leaving."

"No you're not," Bruce looked at her confused at her comment. "If you were really sorry, you would look me in the eye and talk to me like a person, rather than avoid me at every turn. You left because you were afraid, and here you are still afraid, although this time what you feared before is not the only thing you fear now." Natasha's voice became bitter with every word she spoke. When she finished with what she was saying, the spy took a deep breath, calming herself down.

"Have a nice night, doctor." And with those last words, Natasha turned back around and walked out of the room, leaving Bruce alone once again.

* * *

Ultron watched from Lottie's computer as Bruce and Natasha had their small chat. He watched like he usually did, gaining intel and leaving small clues for people to find when he wanted them to be found. He was good at watching, even better at not being caught. Although the young woman's computer that he was currently in was hard to breach, he had done it just as Banner had. Ever since Lottie Potts had started working with S.H.I.E.L.D, Ultron had been watching. With the knowledge that was in Lottie's computer, Ultron was able to get into the different parts of S.H.I.E.L.D's systems without being caught. He had been able to watch all of the agent's and Avenger's movements when he hacked into the video surveillance network. He had been able to see the results of the testing and training Lottie was giving the Avengers. He was able to see their strengths and weaknesses, and now he would use them to his advantage.

The first seeds planted had been far too easy. With bringing Banner back to the group and making both Tony and Lottie vulnerable with the attack on Pepper, it was almost sad how easy he could manipulate the team. And now with his threat to Barton's family, everything was slowly falling into place. Now all he has to do is what he has done for weeks; watch and wait.

Watch and wait for the Avenger's to destroy themselves from the inside out. And then he would come and finish off any survivors.

 **AN: I think I'll start doing my notes down here.**

 **Anyway, thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate the positive feedback; it makes writing a lot easier. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If there is any confusion, do not worry, much will be explained in the chapters to come. I was unsure about the last portion of this chapter and I honestly wrote it in like 10 minutes so I hope it is okay. College starts soon for me so I will try to update as often as I can!**

 **Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

Lottie was frustrated. For the past couple of days, everything just seemed to go against her. First it was her wanting to work in her own office, but what Nick hadn't told her was that her office was now Bruce's area since he found what she couldn't. Then the doctors told her that Pepper's brain activity was getting better, but they still were unsure if she would survive the injuries. And just now, Lottie got into an argument with Wanda.

 _"I just don't understand why I can't come with you guys." Lottie said, following Wanda out of the training facility and into the outdoors. Wanda and most of the team had been called on an easy mission, leaving Lottie by herself._

 _"Don't ask me about it," Wanda began, "Fury is the one who assigns the missions, complain to him." The Sokovian's voice was distant and her body language was cut off, leaving Lottie to believe that something was wrong._

 _"Hey, are you okay?" Lottie asked, grabbing Wanda's arm so that she could see her friend's face, rather than continue to talk to her back._

 _"I'm fine, Lottie." The red head could see Wanda's jaw set._

 _"No, you aren't. First Pietro has been ignoring me, and now you have started to. Have I done something wrong?" She asked quietly. Lottie could see Wanda's face soften, but something caused her expression to go hard again._

 _"Maybe it's the fact that you try so hard to be a part of the team, when in reality you will never be an Avenger."_

 _"What?" Lottie whispered, unable to determine what caused her friend to say those words to her. She could tell Wanda was struggling keep composure._

 _"You take up everyone's time to help you with that silly stone, when we need to be focusing on Ultron. And you have been playing with my brother's feel-"_

 _"Excuse me? I've been playing with Pietro's feelings?" Lottie scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I've been nothing but a friend to him!" She said, her voice raising._

 _"Oh please, he told me about what happened at Barton's house!" Wanda yelled back. Lottie felt the heat raise to her face, remembering what happened. "You can't even deny it, Lottie!"_

 _"So that's it," Lottie began after calming down. "I distract the team because I have no idea what to do about this alien rock that's inside of me and I apparently have been stringing your brother along when I don't even know about my feelings towards him." Lottie could begin to feel tears form in her eyes, but she willed them to not spill over. Wanda's jaw clenched and she looked anywhere but Lottie._

 _"Well, I won't be a bother to you guys again." Lottie spat, walking back into the facility, finally letting the tears go._

Lottie sighed to herself, replaying the fight in her head over and over again. She didn't understand what caused Wanda to say those things to her and she didn't want to believe that she meant them. But the things she said about Pietro caused Lottie to doubt that. Had she been stringing him along? She didn't even know what she felt towards him anymore. First he was just a friend to her, then he was constantly running through her mind, and now he was avoiding her.

She looked down at the stone in her hand, seeing the slight color that came through her skin. If only she hadn't found the stone, then maybe things would be simpler. Maybe Pietro would be talking to her and she wouldn't be taking up everyone's time. Or maybe she would be kicked out of the facility and totally forgotten by everyone when they went on missions. The different scenarios of what would her life be like if she hadn't found the stone ran through her mind. And then, the thought of what would have happened if she never went to visit her sister all those years ago at Stark Industries. What would her life be like if she hadn't met Tony Stark and had been introduced to the Avengers. Her life would probably be normal; normal but lonely. She itched her palm, feeling the hardness of the stone underneath her soft skin. She wondered if Vision ever thought about what it would be like to be free of the stone, but then she remembered that he wouldn't be here without it.

"Lottie," Someone called her name, tearing the red head from her thoughts. She looked up to see Bruce approaching her, as he did not go on the mission with the team. He had a concerned look on his face, noticing the stain on her cheek that her tears had left when they dried.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. She nodded in response, swallowing back all the emotions she had just had.

"Yeah, um...what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Nothings wrong. Mrs. Barton wanted to see you and I told her I would find you." He explained. Ever since Clint had found out his family was the possible next target, he moved them to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where they would be protected from any threat. Lottie hadn't been able to really see the Barton family, as she was constantly training and trying to figure out where Ultron would strike next.

"She's in Barton's room." Bruce's voice invaded her thoughts again.

"Good. I'll, uh...I can find it myself. Thanks Bruce." Lottie smiled tightly and made her way to where Laura was.

* * *

Wanda quietly sat on the Quinjet, her words that she had said to Lottie playing over and over again. She knew that what she was saying was not the truth and would probably break Lottie's heart, but she had to say them. She had to distance her friend from the team so Ultron would leave her alone. Wanda watched the other members of the team closely. Steve and Tony were discussing an attack plan, while Thor would interject every so often, adding some suggestions in case something went wrong with the plan. Vision was with Sam Wilson, admiring the latter's new wings. Natasha and Clint were at the front of the Quinjet, in charge of the controls. And Pietro, well Pietro was sitting next to her, completely silent. Wanda looked over to her brother, his eyes were closed and she could hear the light tapping of his foot. She knew that he was awake, but she also knew that he was trying to convince the team that he was asleep so that they would leave him alone.

"Steve," Wanda suddenly said, getting the attention of the super soldier. Steve, Tony, and Thor all looked in her direction, giving Wanda all their attention. While she still did not fully trust Tony Stark, Wanda had come to really enjoy the company of Captain America and Thor. "Where are we going?"

"Sokovia." Steve told her uneasily. Wanda's eyes widened and she could feel Pietro stiffen slightly besides her. "Ultron had a lot of military grade machinery there and we got word that Klaue had taken over some parts of the city to find this machinery."

Wanda remembered Ulysses Klaue from South Africa. He was unafraid of what Pietro and her could do, but was easily swayed by Ultron to get the Vibranium.

"If he gets the machinery," Steve continued, "well, we aren't sure exactly what he wants with it."

"He has powerful friends in the black market," Tony started, "but, I have a feeling he wants this stuff for himself." Wanda nodded and felt Pietro begin to relax.

Wanda looked at her brother once more and nudged him gently.

"Leave me alone, Wanda." He whispered to her, eyes still closed.

"I don't know if I can keep up with this act." She whispered back.

"What act?" Pietro questioned, opening his eyes. Icy blue met warm brown and Wanda had to do everything to keep herself from looking away from the coldness in her brother's gaze. It wasn't coldness towards her, but rather the look he always had.

"I can't just keep _her_ at a distance like you can." Wanda told him, her voice still low so the rest of the team wouldn't hear. She didn't know why they weren't talking to each other in their native language, but ever since they joined the team speaking in English was just the norm.

"I don't want to talk about this." Pietro said, slouching in his seat. "Not here, at least."

Wanda stared at her brother as he closed his eyes again, cutting himself off from his surroundings. She sighed and sat back in her seat, pinching the bridge of her nose. The rest of their mission was not going to be fun.

* * *

"Laura?" Lottie asked as she knocked on the door of the familiar room. She could hear shuffling, footsteps, and then the door burst open. Laura Barton pulled Lottie into a tight hug. Although they had recently seen each other in the past couple of weeks, it felt like forever. The two were used to waiting months before they could finally speak to one another in person. Lottie wound her arms around the older woman, smelling the vanilla of her shampoo fill her nostrils.

"Hey, kiddo." Laura said gently, breaking away from the hug. Laura had grown accustomed to calling Lottie the various nicknames Clint called her.

"Hey, where's the kids?" Lottie asked, peaking her head into the room. Laura moved to the side, allowing the red head to walk in the room. There were toys on the ground and the baby's crib was nestled in the right hand corner. Lottie noticed a door on the left side of the room, leading to where the two older Barton children slept. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been very accommodating for Clint's family, putting a connecting door from Clint's room to the one next to it, where the family could be more comfortable.

"Some of the younger Agents are watching them, showing them the facility and what not." Laura told her. Lottie sat on the black ottoman that was placed at the end of the bed.

"That sounds fun," Lottie smiled small, watching Laura grab a small love seat and push it closer to Lottie, sitting with her legs crossed.

"How have you been, Lot?" Laura asked.

"Well," Lottie began, the sigh she let out trembling slightly. "The guy that I like is suddenly ignoring me, my sister is in the hospital, the World Council of Douche-Baggery wants to use me as a weapon because of this stupid stone," Lottie held up her hand lazily, pointing to the glimmering yellow stone. "Oh and one of my best friends just practically told me I was diverting the Avenger's with my antics."

"Geez, it does not sound like your week. But, I bet it's just because everyone is on edge. It'll get better" Laura said, attempting to make Lottie see that everything would be okay.

"Pietro doesn't even breathe my way anymore." Lottie grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I know something that'll brighten your mood." Laura said, getting up from the love seat. She walked over to the side of the bed, pulling out a gift bag. "A little present that I think you will appreciate."

"Laura, you really should not have."

"Clint told me about the hard time you were having,"

"Leave it to Bird-Man to see everything and tweet about it," Lottie mumbled, causing Laura to laugh.

"Take it, Lottie." Laura urged. Lottie sighed and took the bag and placed it on the free spot next to her on the ottoman. She dug her hands into the bag and pulled out two bottle of red wine.

"Oh you Barton's know me so well," Lottie laughed, reading the information on the bottle.

"I knew you would like it." Laura smiled. Lottie put the bottles on the bed behind her and hugged the matriarch.

"I definitely need this." Lottie told her, picking up on of the bottles again. "Well, it's five o'clock somewhere." She smirked, taking the cork off of the bottle.

"What, am I going to have to baby-sit you now?" Laura scoffed, watching the young woman in front of her take a swig from the bottle.

"Unless you want to join me." Lottie said, her voice light. Lottie held the bottle out for Laura to take, an encouraging smile on her face. "Come on, I'm sure your kids will be fine with the Agents. You deserve this wonderfully delicious wine, Laura." She coaxed.

"Oh what the hell," Laura exclaimed, taking the bottle out of Lottie's hand.

 **AN: So I have decided that the disclaimer is no longer necessary after stating it in the 11 chapter before this one. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Stay tuned for drunk Lottie and Laura in the next one.**


	13. Chapter 13

The Quinjet landed back at the New York facility, filled with the team. Each of them were covered in soot and dirty from what had happened in Sokovia. They met a small, but well equipt, group of HYDRA agents and people working to Klaue. But, there was no sign of the black market dealer at the site. One of the HYDRA agents set fire to a building they were in, causing the team to leave the burning building covered in ash and black filth.

"I'm going to need at least 5 showers to get all this crap off of me." Natasha complained, getting off of the landing strip. She walked next to Clint and Steve, who was attempting to get some of the soot off of his shield.

"The good thing that came out of this," Steve began, "is that now we know Klaue is up to something. He helped Ultron before, who says that he isn't helping him now?" He questioned, finally getting some of the blackness off. From the corner of his eye, Steve saw the silver-blue blur of Pietro running into the facility. Steve wondered how difficult it was for the Maximoff twins to go back to where they are from, but see it in ruins. He looked back into the Quinjet, seeing Wanda talk with Vision, walking towards where he was currently standing. Just as he was about to call out Wanda's name, Steve heard the loud laughs of two women coming closer to where everyone was.

"Laura?" He heard Clint say. Steve turned his head to see Laura Barton and Lottie stumbling over to where the team was. Well, more like Lottie stumbling and Laura attempting to keep the former woman from falling. Although, it did seem like Laura was having a bit trouble standing on her own.

"Hey Mr. Bowman," Laura greeted, a goofy grin wide on her face. "This one here has had a little too much to drink."

"Looks like both of you did." Steve mumbled. "I'll get Lottie." He sighed and walked to the stumbling women, stabilizing the younger girl in place. Clint and Natasha both made sure Laura was okay, but it seemed like she didn't need as much assistance as Lottie.

"Hey Steve-O," Lottie slurred, her head swaying slightly from side to side. "You are dirty. Such a dirty boy." Steve couldn't help but smile.

"Come on, Lottie-Pop, let's head back inside."

"N-no. I want to stay here. Please." Her heavy head fell to Steve's shoulder.

"Bring her inside in 20 minutes." Clint told the soldier before bringing his wife back inside the building. Steve could hear the voice of Mrs. Barton chattering away about what the two women did while the team was gone.

"Steeeeeve," Lottie whined, her voice muffled by her face on his shoulder. He could feel her legs beginning to buckle slightly.

"Let's get you sitting. What do you think about that, Lot?" The girl lifted her head a little and nodded, her lips twitching into what seemed to be a smile. Steve looked around the vicinity and spotted a small cement ledge that the two could sit on. Carefully, he led the red head over to the ledge- not without Lottie falling on her hands a few times- before finally getting her to sit on the cement. He positioned himself next to her, making sure that she wouldn't fall off.

"Steve," Lottie began. "Am I a problem to the team?" She asked, her voice changing to a higher pitch. Steve looked over at his friend.

"No. Why would you think that?" Lottie shrugged dramatically, putting all her force into the action. This caused her to begin to lurch forward, but Steve caught her before she could really begin to fall.

"Lottie, you are an essential part of this team. Without you, we would not be what we are."

"Maybe you would be better,"

"Maybe...but we will never know. But don't think about the 'what ifs' or anything like that. You are important to us, kid." Steve could see Lottie's lower lip begin to quiver and her eyes go glossy. He had dealt with drunk Lottie and crying Lottie, but he has never had to deal with a drunk-crying Lottie.

"Why is he ignoring me?" Lottie sobbed out in a whisper. A few tears flowed freely from her eyes and Steve frowned at her question.

"Pietro? Lottie, he must be crazy to ignore you. You're an amazing person."

"You're only saying that because you're my friend."

"Well yes, but it's true, Lot."

"I-I hate feeling this way. It's stupid." She choked out, fumbling to wipe the tears away. Steve wrapped his arm around Lottie's small body and pulled her to his side.

"It's okay, Lot. No one is around...you can let it out." He told her. Lottie attempted to wrap her arms around Steve's waist, and she buried her head into his shoulder again. She could feel all the emotions she had held in flow out of her body at once. She stayed there, in her friend's arms, crying.

* * *

"Laura, how much did you have to drink?" Clint asked. He was happy that he got to help his wife out, as she seemed much less of a mess than Lottie. But his mind raced with worry about the red headed girl, as it usually did.

"Not as much as, Lottie." Laura giggled, slightly messing up her footing. However, Laura was able to catch herself from falling, unlike Lottie. "She's a mess, I thought that wine would help her."

"Yeah, but how much wine?" Natasha smirked.

"I only had half a bottle. Lottie finished the rest of that one and then had another bottle all to herself." Laura explained. Clint and Natasha glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Laura.

"She was so sad. She didn't really want to talk to me about what was on her mind. So I didn't push her." Laura continued to talk. Her words weren't slurred at all, only her vision and motor skills were slightly off due to the alcohol intake. "Hey, you!" Laura suddenly shouted down the hallway.

Pietro, who had just come out of his room after a very fast shower, looked over at the woman that seemed to want his attention. He stopped in his place, looking at Clint and Natasha questioningly. They both shrugged, not having a clue what Laura needed Pietro for. The woman made her way to Pietro, Clint closely behind her just in case she needed his help walking. Natasha was behind Clint, trying not to laugh at Laura's failed attempt to walk in a straight line.

"Can I help you?" Pietro asked once Laura reached to where he was standing.

"You need to apologize." Laura stated, matter-of-factly, and poking Pietro's chest with her pointer finger. Pietro gave her a confused look. "Oh don't act like you don't know."

"I'm sorry, but I really do not know what you are talking about." Pietro had dealt with drunk people his whole life, had to fight a few back home, but there was something about a tipsy Laura Barton that made him slightly fearful. He knew that she was a mother, but her stance and sharpness of her voice reminded him of how his mother would speak to him when he got in trouble.

"Of course you know," Laura scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You need to go and talk to Lottie...or...or I'll...well I'll do something you don't like, Mr. Tall-Blonde-Man." Pietro looked down at the woman, her scowling face making him feel uneasy. But, something about the urgency of her voice when she said Lottie's name made him worried.

"Is she okay?"

"Is she okay?" Laura repeated. "No! She's not. She is a mess. She thinks everyone hates her! It doesn't really help that your sister, a person Lottie thinks of as a best friend, said a bunch of mean things to her!" Laura placed her hands on her hips.

"Where is she?" Pietro asked, his voice low.

"Outside with Steve." Natasha answered.

* * *

Pietro walked out of the facility, his mind running with different things he could say to Lottie. He had been avoiding her for at least a week, and it had to be one of the hardest things he had to do. It wasn't just because of how he felt about her, but Lottie was also a good friend. She was there if someone needed a person to talk to and she did not judge others. He didn't know how to talk to her anymore. What would he say? Pietro looked around for any sign of the Captain and Lottie, and just when he was about to give up, he heard Steve's voice and began walking towards the sound.

As he walked closer to where he thought Steve's voice was, Pietro spotted the massive form of Captain Rogers enveloping Lottie's smaller frame into a hug. Pietro's hand twitched slightly and he grimaced looking at the two. He knew they were close friends, but for some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about them being closer than friends out of his head. He could feel his anger begin to rise, and he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the two. Steve let Lottie go from the embrace, but kept a hand firmly on her back, steading her. Lottie looked over at Pietro, the mascara smudged around her eyes.

"I, uh...I can come back later?" Pietro spoke, rubbing the back of his neck. Steve got off of the cement ledge, helping a slightly less wobbly Lottie off of the ledge as well.

"No. I was actually just leaving." Steve told him. The Captain turned to Lottie and gave her an encouraging smile before walking away from the two.

"I look like a mess." Lottie said, rubbing underneath her eyes in hopes that the black makeup would come off.

"No...no you look fine," Pietro stayed where he was standing. It had been a while since the two last talked, or that they had really even seen each other. Pietro felt like he was talking to a stranger with a face he knew. But he wasn't lying to her when he said she looked fine. Aside from the smudged makeup, Lottie looked pretty good. Her hair was up, out of her face; the baggy shirt that she was wearing would have looked frumpy on anyone else, but Lottie made it look attractive. Pietro swallowed hard, trying to push the feelings away.

"Was...was there something you wanted to talk about?" Lottie asked, biting her lip. Her words weren't as slurred and she felt less drunk, thanks to the much needed crying session with Steve. She would have to remind herself to show her gratitude for staying with her when she was sober.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Lottie blinked, taking in his words. He wanted to make sure she was okay? After the avoiding and ignoring, suddenly now that she was intoxicated and a mess, he wanted to make sure she was okay? Lottie could feel the anger bubbling up in her stomach. She also felt the stone on her hand begin to heat up, but she calmed herself enough for the heat to go away.

"How dare you," She began, making her way over to where he was standing. It wasn't a very graceful walk, but she didn't fall once. "You think you can just avoid me for weeks and then suddenly ask if I am okay? No, Pietro. I am not okay. I am a fucking wreck. Everything with this stone and Pepper has me fucked up and I thought that you would at least be there for me, but no; you weren't there." Lottie's voice cracked and she felt the tears rise again, but she didn't try to hold them back.

"You think it was easy for me to just stop being around you?!" Pietro became angry too. Not angry at Lottie, but the situation they were in. "You have been in my head since the day you jumped off the Avengers Tower. You are on my mind every single waking moment, and when I am not awake, you invade my dreams. Do you know how hard it was for me to keep my emotions to myself? To not tell you how I felt? Dammit, Lottie, you are like a poison to me." He paused running his hand through his hair. "I avoided to because Ultron targeted Pepper because of Tony, and I was afraid that he would go after you next if he saw how close we were. I was trying to protect you." His voice became soft and Pietro felt defeated.

"You're a fucking idiot." Lottie said.

"Wh-" before Pietro had the chance to finish his first word, Lottie wrapped her arm around the back of his neck, pulled him down to her. She pressed her lips against his. Pietro tensed up at first, but his body soon relaxed, the scent of Lottie's citrus shampoo calming him. One of his hands fell to her hip, while the other found its way to side of her neck, holding her there. The hair from her pony-tail tickled his fingers, but it was soft like her lips. He could feel her fingers tangle into the hair at the base of his neck as she brought her body close to his.

Closeness. That is what both of them needed. Lottie felt the distance between them too great. She felt Pietro's tongue gently slide against her bottom lip, and she allowed the kiss to deepen, feeling the want in the pit of her stomach increase. This was not a soft, sweet kiss, this was months of pent up tension and hidden feelings between the two. The taste of wine and peppermint toothpaste drowned the two. Lottie could feel the corner's of Pietro's mouth twitch into a smile and she broke away from the kiss, creating some distance between the two of them.

She was trying to maintain her breathing and calm her heart, as it beat rapidly in her chest. Her lips felt slightly swollen, and the tears that had fallen down her face had dried. She looked at Pietro, with his eyes just fluttering open. He too seemed to be trying to get his breathing back to normal. His hair was more disheveled than it usually was, but the smile that Lottie felt was still on his face.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." He finally said.

"Oh shut up, Speedy." Lottie said, closing the distance between them once more and pulling his face back to hers.

 **AN: I am so sorry for the late update. School has been crazy so far. But, hopefully this chapter makes up for my lateness. Please don't forget to review!**


	14. Chapter 14

_The family sat at the dinner table for Sabbath. It was his favorite meal of the week, mainly because Pietro's father allowed him to cut the second piece of challah. Wanda was sitting next to Pietro, admiring the flowers she had bought in the market for the night. She had been helping their elderly neighbor for the past week and was excited when the old woman paid her just this morning. Wanda had told their mother that it was only enough money to buy the bouquet of lavender and wildflower, but she had secretly also purchased a new charm for her mother's birthday._

" _Wanda," her mother spoke up, getting the 10 years old attention. "Will you help me light the candles?" Wanda nodded with glee. She had always watched her mother light the Sabbath candles, taking a mental note at all the movements she made when saying the blessing. The way her delicate hands waved carefully over the flame and then made their way to cover her eyes. Wanda had practiced the movement in the mirror for months, perfecting the progression from candle to eyes._

" _Issak," her mother, Misha, said looking around the table. "Where are the matches?"_

 _Issak was a tall, slender man, who spent his days as an accountant in the thriving city that was almost an hour away from home. He had thick curly hair that neither of his children inherited. He stood from the table, adjusting his yarmulke back onto his head when he felt it shift._

" _It should be in the kitchen, dear." He told her. His vast height contrasted greatly with Misha's small stature._

" _I'll look again." Issak said, seeing the piercing gaze of his wife. While he was the man of the house, he knew not to cause trouble with her after the hours of preparation she had to do for the Sabbath. Issak's stocky form made it's way to the kitchen._

" _Mother, Pietro is kicking me under the table!" Wanda cried, glaring at her brother._

" _I did not! She's lying, mother!" Pietro stood from his seat._

" _Misha, where did you last put them?" Issak's booming voice called. Misha sighed and gave her children a look that quickly stopped their complaining._

" _No funny business while I am out of sight." She wagged her finger at the twins and walked into the kitchen. Pietro and Wanda could hear drawers opening and closing as their parents tried to find the matches. Suddenly, Pietro heard a shrill noise. The sound of the drawers stopped and then everything went black._

" _Pietro!" Wanda cried, as her older brother regained consciousness. He hadn't been out long, but it was enough to not see the first bomb hit. "Pietro!" She called again. Wanda lay next to Pietro, their bodies covered in the rubble of their home. They would have been crushed if it weren't for their dining table that miraculously shielding them from the damage of the fallen debris._

" _W-Wanda? What happened?" Pietro asked, hissing in pain from the cut on his cheek. He opened his eyes to see half of their home gone. The half that his parents were just in. The sound of another bomb hitting a different building caused Wanda to scream out in fear._

" _Wanda! Please calm down! We don't know how long this table can hold!" Pietro attempted to turn his head, seeing the splintering wood of the table begin to give way. Unexpectedly, another bomb was launched into the apartment where the Maximoff's lived. Pietro took a deep breath, knowing that it would probably be his last. He heard the clanking of metal as the bomb bounced through the holes in the roof. A large bang and suddenly the bomb was in front of the faces, nestled in a pocket of rubble. Wanda screamed again, but this time Pietro said nothing, only tried to hold her tighter to his body. But the explosion never came._

 _Pietro stared at the bomb for hours, waiting for it to blow at any minute. But it never did. He stared at the object, the hate for what it had taken away from him brewing. Wanda had stopped crying, stopped calling for their parents. She too stared at the bomb, but her look was blank and emotionless. They stared at the large letters etched into the bomb in bright red. "STARK."_

 _Pietro and Wanda Maximoff stared and remember that name, letting the hate bubble inside of them; letting the thoughts of revenge for their parent's death and the death of all the other Sokovians take over their minds._

Pietro opened his eyes, trying to get the dream out of his mind. It wasn't really a dream; rather a memory he wish he would forget. But he could never forget what had happened all those years ago. He could see a faint light coming from the other side of the room, but chose not to say anything about it. Instead, he closed his eyes, hoping that his mind would remain empty.

* * *

Lottie lay upright in her bed with book in hand. She had been plowing through a collection of novels she had brought with her when she first moved into the Avengers Facility. They had been on lock-down for a few hours now after someone had come and stole something. She heard Sam talk about the "Ant-Man" and how he could make himself small enough to get into his pack. She heard the soft sound of breathing come from beside her and a shift in the bed and looked away from the pages, seeing Pietro shift besides her, his back no longer facing her. The bruise colored bags under his eyes made it clear that he needed this sleep. The team had been on mission after mission, picking up Ultron's breadcrumbs. They also had a few other minor threats to deal with. Klaw was still on the loose, making it more difficult for the team to figure out Ultron's plans.

Lottie still was not allowed to go on big missions. And although she really wanted to fight alongside her friends, she was happy to do her part in her office. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep her mind off of things. Pepper was showing signs of improvement and that was the best thing Lottie could possibly hear. She also had Pietro to keep her happy now. It had been a few weeks after their drunken kiss and they kept it a secret. It wasn't as if they were together. They both decided it would be best to not let their feelings get in the way of their job, until Ultron was caught. However, that didn't stop them from seeing each other every night.

"Turn your stupid light off, Lottie." Pietro mumbled, burying his head into the white pillow to block the glow of the tableside light. The rest of Lottie's room was dark, but the little light she used to read seemed to make the room bright.

"I'm trying to read," She whispered, gazing back at the words on the page. She shifted her glasses up the bridge of her nose slightly. Lottie heard Pietro say something to himself before feeling his arm wrap around her and moved her from the sitting position into his arms.

"Pietro," She whined, feeling him pull her closer to him. Her back hit against his chest and she felt his other arm wrap itself around her frame. "This is not fair."

"Life isn't fair." He grumbled to her.

"Fine, you win." Lottie sighed closing the book. She shifted slightly and reached up to the switch of the lamp, turning it off. Darkness filled the room once again and Lottie, after putting her glasses on the nightstand, positioned herself against Pietro.

"Was that so hard?" Pietro asked quietly, placing a gentle kiss on the side of Lottie's neck. It sent shivers throughout Lottie's body and she bit the inside of her lip gently.

"It's not the only thing that's hard." Lottie commented, a smirk appearing on her lips and she gently pushed her backside closer to Pietro's body. She heard a low groan emit from his throat as she slowly began to move her hips, grinding her ass into his crotch. Lottie felt the hardness from inside Pietro's pants against her and bit her lip. His lips found her neck in the dark again and gently sucked on the skin where her neck and collarbone met. His arms pulled her body closer to his and his hand ghosted at the edge of the t-shirt she wore to bed. Lottie could feel the cold air against her hot skin and his fingers dance against the skin of her stomach. She would have continued on the path they were currently heading to, but in the back of her mind she knew he had to leave for another mission in the morning.

"Well," She said, creating space between their bodies, "goodnight." She could feel the tension in the space she had just made and the silence of Pietro didn't help.

"You are going to kill me one of these days." He finally said, clearly trying to gain control over his thoughts and body.

* * *

Lottie woke up to an empty room, other than herself of course. Reaching for her nightstand, she sloppily put her glasses on and sat up in bed. She stretched her arms over her head, groaning as the tightness from sleeping melted away. She looked over to where Pietro had been laying, his imprint still visible on the bed. Lottie smiled to herself and began to step out of the comfort of the bed.

She cracked her knuckles as she went to her dresser, pulling out a pair of gray sweatpants. It would be a long day, so she wanted to be comfortable if she was going to be locked up in her office. Lottie stretched her arms one last time, put on the pair of pants, and made her way out of her room and into the hallway.

It was always cold in the facility, but today Lottie felt that the temperature was cooler than usual. She also noticed that no one was walking in the halls. Scrunching up her nose, Lottie continued her way, passing the recreational room. However, seeing a large group of agents in front of the television screen caused Lottie to pause and walk back.

"What's going on?" She asked, adjusting her hair into a sloppy bun. Some of the agents turned around, while others continued to watch the screen.

"Lottie," A voice said from behind her. Turning around, she saw Agent Hill standing in the doorway. "Come with me." Lottie hesitated for a moment and then followed the senior agent. She liked Maria. She was passionate about her job and really cared for the team.

"What's wrong?" Lottie asked as the two women walked down the hallway. Maria was a fast walker, a little too fast for Lottie at the moment.

"Klaw took the team by surprise. It was a simple mission of taking out some missionaries, but…"

"But what?"

"We had no idea there would be that many men. And with Klaw having the technology that Ultron had and stuff from the abandoned HYDRA facility." Lottie stopped walking. That was new knowledge to her.

"What do you mean stuff from the HYDRA facility? I thought you guys got it all." Maria stopped walking and looked back at the younger girl.

"There was a second base. Pietro and Wanda were never told of it. It had the same materials that were tested on them. Klaw has it now."

"Did S.H.I.E.L.D know about the second base?" Lottie asked, her voice firm.

"Lottie, you have to under-"

"Did S.H.I.E.L.D know about the second base?" Lottie asked again, she voice louder. Her eyes turned cold and she could feel the stone begin to burn inside her hand. Maria seemed to be struggling with herself to tell the truth or not.

"Yes." Agent Hill finally said with a sigh. "We didn't think Klaw would find it."

"What was S.H.I.E.L.D doing with it?"

"After seeing Pietro and Wanda and their powers, Councilman Woods ordered for S.H.I.E.L.D to begin conducting tests of their own. We have been doing testing since the Battle of Sokovia. He used the information you found about how Wanda and Pietro's powers work to help, but not a lot of people responded well to the process. And then you had knowledge on where one of the gems could be, and he thought that more power would mean more people surviving the change. He still wants to try."

"But the stone is in me. How could he possibly use it?"

"Lottie, I don't know."

"What you are saying with the testing is barbaric. Has S.H.I.E.L.D turned into HYDRA again, Maria? Did S.H.I.E.L.D know that they were sending the Avengers into an ambush?!"

"Well of course, my dear." A third voice entered the conversation. Lottie looked over Maria's shoulder to see Councilman Woods standing in the hallway with some of his guards. She hadn't even heard the footsteps of the other two hulking men until they were right behind her. Both grabbed one of her arms, keeping her in place, unable to run.

"How else would we get them out of the way?" The councilman continued, walking closer to the restrained girl. Maria stood in place, her face expressionless.

"What the hell is going on?" Lottie spat.

"My dear, Charlotte," Lottie winced at the usage of her full name. "You are going to help me change the world."

"These tests aren't going to help the world. You are killing innocent people!" She shouted.

"And with the help of you and your stone, the killing will stop. Do you know how much power you hold with the Time Stone, what you could do with it? I'm not the bad guy here, I am trying to stop the bad guys."

"By using the same tactics as them? By killing the Avengers?" Lottie's voice broke and the councilman smiled wickedly as her.

"Are you scared for him? For Pietro?" Councilman Woods' hand went to Lottie's cheek, his fingers caressing her skin. "It's funny what emotions can do to you, isn't it Charlotte? Why, when you get angry, you are able to stop time." His fingers made their way to the side of her face, gliding down her neck. The stopped where two small bruises were; Pietro's love-bites. "I wonder what type of things you could do if we really tapped into your other emotions. What power would emit from that." He took his hand away from her and stepped back.

"We are going to harness the power of the stone and create something bigger and better than S.H.I.E.L.D." Councilman Woods continued. "Bring her to The Room…we have a lot of work to do." Lottie was about to scream before something hard hit her on her head, knocking her unconscious.

Maria watched as the guards dragged away Lottie's body to the unknown room. She didn't dare look at Councilman Woods face, afraid that if she made the wrong expression, he would doubt her allegiance. She watched, taking note of which corridor they took Lottie down. She wouldn't act now, not when she was alone. She would wait for the Avengers to come back and hope that they wouldn't be too late.

 **AN: So I know it may be a little confusing at the end, but trust me, everything will be explained. Next chapter, you might not see a lot of Lottie so I really wanted to make this chapter Lottie-heavy. Also, I am unsure if Pietro and Wanda are canonically Jewish in the AOU universe, but I decided to make them Jewish. Please don't forget to review and I will try to update as soon as I can.**


	15. Just a little update

Hey guys! So this is not a chapter, obviously, but I just wanted to keep you posted with what I plan on doing.

I am going to finish this story. I do not know how many more chapters that will take, but it will get finished. After that I am going to be working on a prequel, following Lottie and the first Avengers movie. However, along with that story, I plan on writing little bits and pieces of Lottie's life with the Avengers after the things that happen in Dare You To Move. I plan on doing a bunch of those "one shots."

So that's basically it. I am currently working on the next chapter and it should be up by the end of the week. Have a nice day!

\- Danielle


	16. An Explanation

Hi everyone. It's been a while…a long while. I feel like I have to explain why I haven't updated in like 2 million years. The truth is I no longer support Marvel. This has been for a while now. This is due to many reasons, some in the MCU some in the comics. 1. They made Captain America into a Hydra sleeper agent. 2 Jews first created Captain America and Hydra has a Nazi affiliation. The fact that Steve is a Hydra agent (a Nazi technically) is absurd and disrespectful to the Jewish men (Jack Kirby, Joe Simon) that created him. 2. They made Magneto into a fucking Nazi in "Secret Empire." Magneto is a known Holocaust survivor wtf. He would never ever, in 10 billion years become apart of the group that murdered his family and people. 3. The blatant white-washing of the Jewish/Romani characters in the MCU. As a Jewish woman, I was so excited to see the Romanoff twins have a turn on the big screen, as they come from a Jewish-Romani family. However, not only was Scarlett Witch played by a non-Jewish woman (Pietro gets away with it because ATJ is Jewish), they completely wiped out any remnants of their comic book ethnicity/religion. This, to me, is bullshit because much of the struggles they faced in the comics because they were Jewish/Romani fueled their characters and made them the heroes they were in the comics. However, in AoU, they joined fucking Hydra, which again, is affiliated to Nazis. What the fuck, Whedon. Many Jewish people have spoken out against the things that I have highlighted, and yet Marvel does nothing but continue to disrespect the Jewish characters and the Jewish creators and the Jewish viewers/readers. So fuck you Marvel.

And that's it. Thank you to those who have supported this story and have been waiting for an updated. I'm sorry that this is the outcome. If you want any closure to this story, I was going to kill Lottie at the end of it because I'm a terrible person that likes angsty Pietro.

Okay bye.


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